Journal of the Orator - The Root of Humanity
by SubjectHazard
Summary: After the Anunnaki ascended, humanity was left to fend for itself in an uncertain universe. Unbeknownst to them, a new threat lingered dangerously close - one that would challenge more than just their supremacy on Earth. Crossover universes include: Assassin's Creed, Stargate, Myst/Riven, and more. Sequel to The Anunnaki Tales.
1. The Timeline

**Author's Note:** This is a timeline of events that have occurred in the last entry (The Anunnaki Tales), plus or minus some details. Listed from the earliest event (at the top) to the latest event (at the bottom), you should be able to use this as a reference guide for future chapters, in case you don't want to read through the previous entry (though I recommend it).

You only have to read the parts after the hyphens (-); the parts after the stars (*) add detail to each point.

The last entry didn't include any canon characters besides Adam, Eve, Jupiter, Minerva, and Juno. This entry has more OCs, but there will be the occasional canon character (the royal family from Atlantis: The Lost Empire, for example). Familiar characters will be brought into the story whenever sensible to the storyline.

Chapters & Continuities: Chapter 1 (Timeline); Chapter 2 (Assassin's Creed; War of the Worlds); Chapter 3 (Assassin's Creed; Stargate Atlantis; Atlantis the Lost Empire; Myst/Riven); Chapter 4 (Myst/Riven); Chapter 5 (Myst/Riven; Stargate Atlantis; Stargate SG-1); Chapter 6 (Atlantis the Lost Empire; Stargate SG-1; Stargate Atlantis; Myst/Riven); Chapter 7 (Atlantis the Lost Empire; Stargate SG-1); Chapter 8 (Atlantis the Lost Empire; Stargate SG-1; Stargate Atlantis; 10,000 B.C.); Chapter 9 (Myst/Riven; Stargate SG-1; Stargate Atlantis)

* * *

- The universe is created. As the universe consists of many dimensions of reality, one in particular is worth note: 'hypertime'.  
*Pure 'hypertime' consists of a dimension consisting of all space-time in one place - a dimension that makes physicists cry (science fiction does that a lot). Within this dimension, anything that could survive it would be 'omnipresent' (for you trekkies, think warp 10) - existing everywhere (and 'everywhen') in the universe at once.

- At the apex of creation, an entity comes into being within this hypertime. Though it does not directly affect the universe, it does connect itself to the quantum signatures ('souls') of people.  
*A quantum signature consists of a series of particles that exist in a quantum dimension. These signatures are connected to our physical dimension by means of a transphasic 'central nervous system' that controls the signature. The purpose of these signatures is to provide every living entity in our physical dimension with a temporal 'address' that continuously changes to indicate what reality and time period they are located in each point of Planck time. As per the multiverse theory, these signatures divide among realities, known as 'alternate universes' (though they aren't true universes, so much as alternate forms of the same physical dimension; consciousness is limited to one reality at a time, save for those in pure hypertime). The entity, hereby called 'Shadow', acts as part of these signatures for the sake of direct communication with sentient beings. After death of a physical body, Shadow redirects the signature to a point in hypertime where it can be taken apart; the pieces of the signature are then connected to pieces of others to create a new signature to be used on another being.

- Celestial bodies, such as stars and nebulae, are created. Most of these have a form of sentience all their own. From the stars, practically all matter is created.  
* This revealed by the television series, 'Andromeda'. The 'creation of all matter' part is real physics, however.

- The Grey arrive in the universe from 'one side of eternity' (another universe). They bring with them a young girl, who becomes the progenitor of a race known as the Alterans. Afterward, they spread out and create other forms of life, including the Vedi and the Engineers.  
* The Alterans are the Ancients/Lanteans of Stargate Atlantis. The Vedi are a coalition of mutated Grey consisting of the invaders of 'Independence Day'. The Engineers were introduced in the film 'Prometheus' as semi-spiritual geneticists, and the creator species discovered in the Star Trek TNG episode 'The Chase' were also part of this race in this continuity. As for the young girl, you'll have to wait and find out in a future chapter/entry.

- The Grey recognize the importance of Earth and several other planets, and choose to leave behind a small group of themselves to guard those planets from other species. In human mythology, these Grey become known as 'Watchers' and 'angels'.  
* The Watchers are specifically mentioned in the Book of Daniel and the Books of Enoch (the latter being the source for this mythology). In this continuity, they are also the 'sons of God' mentioned in the Book of Genesis.

- The Engineers create most forms of life in the Milky Way Galaxy. However, most of them are snuffed out before the process of evolution could occur by the Grey, who sought to use the Engineer's research for their own benefit (in seeking their ultimate evolution). Among the only species of the Engineers to survive are the Goa'uld. The Engineers themselves end up exterminated by the Vedi.  
* Mixing Prometheus and Stargate SG-1 together here. The Engineers would have been responsible for other races too, including the ones in Star Trek, had the Grey not interfered as they did.

- Some of the Alterans 'ascend'. They discover that they can gain power by having physical beings worship them. Some Alterans do not want to abuse this power, and a civil war erupts between the 'Ori' (religious fanatics) and the 'Alterans' proper (scientists). The Alterans leave their home galaxy and begin populating others, including the Pegasus and Milky Way galaxies. They would eventually ascend as well, though they would not attempt to force mortals to worship them - in fact, they shield these galaxies from the Ori's notice.  
* This was described in seasons 8-10 of Stargate SG-1. Ascension is the detachment of the quantum signature from the body, carrying the body's stored consciousness and memories with it. The body fades because the matter composing it is used to maintain consciousness within the quantum signature, which becomes transphasic - caught between the physical dimension and the quantum dimension (explaining why one can still see an ascended being in the physical realm).

- A Grey ship crash lands on the planet Gartarnay, causing an eruption of 'light' that envelops the entire world. When it is over, the inhabitants of that planet, known as ronay, discover that they can create a special form of ink using materials modified by the 'light' from the Grey vessel; this ink allows them to write entire worlds and universes into existence.  
* This is a sci-fi explanation for the mythology behind the Myst series, which states that the god 'Yahvo' gave the ronay the 'Art' (ability to create new worlds by writing them into existence). In reality, the worlds they 'create' are usually preexisting universes and worlds with 'pocket dimensions' connected to crash-landed Grey craft. To understand why, one has to know this about the Grey ships: they can travel between universes, even when those universes have physics that are extremely different from ours. They do this by modifying the physics of their ships and bodies using special drives connected to a quantum singularity. As a result, the particles making that quantum singularity can be mixed with parts of the physical dimension through quantum signatures, such as those existing in the various substances used to create the ink the ronay use. All Grey craft retain a connection between one another with these singularities, regardless of distance (even between universes); as a result, the ronay were able to similarly connect to Grey craft that were generating a 'pocket dimension' around themselves (warding off standard physics of a universe in order to create a new one; this is the only known means of safely extinguishing an Adar, which will be explained below).

- The Vedi Star Empire is founded. Close relatives to the Grey (they evolved from Grey left in that galaxy), they sought to outdo their creators by destroying the Grey's creations and replacing them with their own. They would often bring other Grey-derived species into their fold, such as the Areas (sons of Mars). At this time, they control nearly an entire quadrant (quarter) of the Milky Way Galaxy. The Grey arrive in the universe in an attempt to stop their expansion, and a war erupts.  
* The Areas are the 'Martians' of War of the Worlds, and are one of the many variant versions of the Grey that join the Vedi.

- Another Grey ship crash lands on the home world of a parasitic species known as the Goa'uld and their reptilian Unas hosts. One named Anu discovers the ship and learns that it needs gold to operate. His father, Abzu, gathers together the tribe, and they begin a war of conquest across their world. Their war stops short, however, when they discover the chapa'ai/stargate. They search the Grey ship's database for information on how to use it, and they discover 'Terra' listed as a 'top priority' planet. Using the provided stargate address, they travel to Earth (bringing the Grey ship with them) and begin setting up base, with the goal of mining gold. Afterward, they send a group back to their home world to bury the stargate so others would not find them.  
* This is before the creation of humans in the Milky Way Galaxy, so all the Goa'uld are still using Unas hosts, as revealed in Stargate SG-1. As this is taking place long before the Goa'uld officially discovered the stargate, it is important to note the last sentence.

- Abzu is overthrown in a conspiracy began by his son, Anu. One of Anu's sons, named Enki, feared correctly that Abzu would eventually kill them all in his derangement, so he arranged for the rebellion with his father's help. Enki's closest friend, Kingu, continued to support Abzu, and his friendship with Enki made Anu and the other rebels continue to distrust Enki.  
* A lot of this is actual mythology. For the most part, I'm following Sumerian legends as closely as possible, but at times, Akkadian, Babylonian, and Assyrian variations are allowed. The legend is detailed in the Babylonian 'Enuma Elish'.

- Enki discovers a means of trapping ascended Alterans using the Grey ship. Anu orders thousands of ascended Ancients captured and used as hosts. Tiamat, Abzu's consort, is among the last to be executed, forced to proclaim Anu as the 'father of the gods'. The supporters of Anu, thenceforth, became known as the 'Anunnaki'. Most take half-ascended Alteran hosts.  
* The Grey created the Alterans as a means of achieving their ultimate evolution. Much as some of the Replicators in the Pegasus Galaxy, they sought a means of ascension. As a result, the Grey managed to study the process when the Alterans did begin ascending, and their research was shared among their ships. The half-ascended Alterans are the 'First Civilization' seen in Assassin's Creed, and yes, they are all possessed by Goa'uld of Anu's tribe (Anunnaki). They retain their exterior physical form (unlike Anubis) because only the interior of their bodies are phased between dimensions (actual ascended beings can do this, such as Oma Desala, who disguised herself as a mortal monk during Daniel Jackson's first encounter with her).

- Using the Grey database, the Anunnaki discover a new world similar to their own home world. They decide to make it their new home world, with Earth (and several others) merely being areas for gold mining and research. They call this new home world 'Dilmun'. This world is in a distant galaxy.  
* The Anunnaki in mythology traveled between our world and their own world (called 'Dilmun' in Sumerian mythology) through some mystic means. Some believed that they traveled through a 'pool' of water called the 'abyss'. Whatever the case, I thought it would work well in a continuity with the stargate of SG-1 and Atlantis fame. Dilmun may mean 'home of the deities', and it is considered a heaven-like place. It's also interesting to note that the events of Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta take place before Dilmun was 'settled'. The stargate is powered by the Grey ship, allowing it to reach even distant galaxies in a way similar to the stargate between Atlantis (in the Pegasus Galaxy) and Earth.

- Enki suggests that one of the Anunnaki are killed to create a new species capable of adapting to Earth's many climates (which the Unas had difficulty doing). Enlil, son of Anu (and brother of Enki), suggests that Kingu's execution be used to this end. Enki is forced to use the genetics/blood of Kingu to create humanity. He holds this against Enlil from then on.  
* Using Sumerian mythology again. It is also worth noting that the stargate was moved from the Alteran base in Antarctica to a more favorable climate in Mesopotamia, due to the Unas' reptilian biology. Though I agree with the theory of human evolution beginning in east Africa, I'm sticking to mythology for this story.

- The war between the Grey and the Vedi has not been going well. The Vedi have expanded far and wide, though they often cannot maintain their new solar systems before the Grey expel them from the sector. It is around this time that a figure known as 'Angra Mainyu' (otherwise known as Lucifer and Kane) begins cloning himself and genetically engineering said clones to infiltrate potential sites of colonization (with the aid of the Areas). His ability to convince others in a hypnotic fashion becomes notorious among the Vedi, though effective.  
* The Vedi are unable to hold onto their possessions for long, explaining why they have had little effect on this universe's history beyond mere myth. This also requires a change of tactics from the Vedi, as they cannot waste more ships on colonization efforts so long as the Grey continue to interfere. Kane is from the Command & Conquer series, but only a single instance of him - he has clones that take different forms depending on the species being infiltrated.

- A means of controlling both human and Unas slaves is created by Enki: the Pieces of Eden. The Unas population begins to dwindle, and they will eventually die out and be replaced by humans. By that point, all of the Anunnaki are using half-ascended Alteran hosts.  
* As revealed in Assassin's Creed. The Unas population was also dwindling on the home world, according to Stargate SG-1, in around 73,000 BCE. The reason seems to be different in that particular case (Goa'uld fought over the Unas for hosts); in the case of the Unas on Earth, the removal of their larvae had a poisonous effect on the Unas and their gene pool. The Pieces of Eden also had a degenerative effect on their minds, compared to humans.

- Enki marries Nintu and has a child, Ninurta. Enlil fears that Enki will have his son attempt revenge on him for the death of Kingu, so he takes Ninurta as his own son and has Nintu killed for more of Enki's experiments with the human race.  
* There seems to be a disparity among the Sumerian legends here. In one version of the myth, Ninurta is the son of Ninhursag (also called Nintu, or 'Lady of Birth'), wife and consort of Enki. In the more well-known version, however, Ninurta is the son of Enlil and Ninlil. This seeks to rectify that issue and prepare the story for the next part.

- Anu uses Grey technology to ascend his parasite and join it with the half-ascended mind of Enlil's host, Jupiter. Enlil became the leader of the Anunnaki. Enki, in the meantime, sends a genetically engineered Unas (one that is half reptile and half avian) to steal the Tablets of Destiny from Enlil. After it succeeds, Enki sends his son, Ninurta, to retrieve the Tablets in Enlil's name. Ninurta succeeds, but is then directed to return to Enki and give him the Tablets; instead, Ninurta is given a fake set of Tablets to give Enlil, which he does.  
* In Sumerian mythology, Enlil was the only one able to keep in contact with Anu; this seeks to explain that. Enki's genetically engineered Unas is known as 'Imdugud' in Sumerian mythology (and Anzu in Babylonian mythology). Ninurta is sent to kill Imdugud and retrieve the tablets for his father, Enlil. Since Enki and Enlil despise each other, and since the patronymic origin of Ninurta is unknown (with answers being apparently either Enki or Enlil), it is safe to say that Enki would have found a way to use Ninurta to his own advantage here.

- Due to the fact that humanity was reproducing faster than the Anunnaki could control them, Enki was tasked with doing something about it - otherwise, humanity would be killed. Enki creates a virus that 'scatters their language to the wind', ala the Tower of Babel myth (without the tower itself). This did not stop humanity from continuing to populate the Earth, however - it only slowed their growth rate to more sustainable levels for a time.  
* Enki was responsible for this in Sumerian mythology, according to Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta.

- The Vedi discover that the suns have consciousness when they capture several Grey ships studying the phenomenon. Using the data gathered, they begin to locate these suns' avatars. Kane would then convince these avatars to destroy targeted worlds. It was rare for them to find the avatars, but they often made an attempt to, in order to avoid casualties.  
* The 'living stars' and their avatars are revealed in Andromeda.

- Enki's grandson, Nabu (son of Marduk), creates something that becomes known as the 'Adar' among the Anunnaki. Due to its unstable nature, Nabu tries to contain it long enough to discover a means of destroying it.  
* The Adar is a particle akin to the 'omega particle' revealed in Star Trek Voyager. The main difference is that every omega particle that has been encountered in the Star Trek series have had smaller effects than pure Adar particles. The Adar has the ability to instantly collapse the entire universe in on itself, but in the process, it causes a 'big bang'-like phenomenon that creates an entirely new universe in its place. Understandably, they are difficult to create, and more difficult to control. The only way to safely use one is by using the quantum singularities of the Grey ships; in this way, anyone exposed to the particles of the quantum singularities can control the Adar and survive its 'restart' of the universe. Unlike normal omega particles, Adar particles cannot be successfully destroyed - only used. The only way to safely 'defuse' the Adar is by using it in a self-contained pocket dimension created by a quantum singularity (such as on the inside of a Grey ship); otherwise, it will affect the entire universe.

- Enki arranges for Ninurta and the rest of the Igigu/Igigi to rebel against the rest of the Anunnaki as a means of saving their race from extinction. The Igigu wished to breed with humans, but older Anunnaki considered the very notion an abomination. A war broke out between the two sides, using humans as the soldiers.  
* The Igigu were younger gods among the Anunnaki, according to Sumerian mythology. Although they were technically created before humanity (at least two existed before Enki began his human experiments), they would not rebel in this continuity until much later. In actual Sumerian mythology, their rebellion was due to being overworked, and it was the direct cause of Enki creating humanity. This is one of the few times I purposefully went off-course from the original mythology.

- The rebellion acts as a distraction for Enki's creations, Adapa and Eva, to enter the laboratory complex of his grandson, Nabu, and attempt to steal the Adar with a modified Piece of Eden meant to contain the particle. When Adapa and Eva see how their own kind have been enslaved by the Anunnaki, they decide to flee with the modified Piece of Eden. Nabu's genetically engineered guards are unable to follow them onto the top of a tower, but Enki's own machines are able to do so. However, Adapa and Eva successfully escape with the Adar.  
* This is where The Truth video in Assassin's Creed II comes into play. Nabu's genetically engineered guards (called mushussu in Sumerian mythology) are feral creatures created with a modified form of Unas DNA (explaining their resemblance to dragons and serpents); they cannot climb things or fly, and are utterly useless in catching Adam and Eve when they climb the tower. Instead, it is Enki's Gallu (demons of the underworld that obeyed Enki when he tried to rescue Inanna/Ishtar), probes with four metal talons that could fly with anti-gravity thrusters, that Adam and Eve encountered at the top of the tower.

- Enki creates a way to capture the consciousness of the ascended hosts and their parasitic Goa'uld larvae using an air-born virus. Enlil uses this to great effect in the war against the Igigu. Enlil's success came too late, however, as many of the Igigu had bred with humans and left behind the ancestors of what would later be known as the 'Assassins'.  
* According to mythology, Enlil did succeed in putting down the Igigu rebellion, though accounts seem to differ on how he did this.

- Finally, Enki captures Enlil/Jupiter with the aid of his supporters among the older Anunnaki. Instead of killing him, Enki decides to remove Jupiter's symbiont (Enlil) and have it killed before Enki takes over Jupiter's body. In this new body, Enki leads the civil war against Enlil's supporters and eventually banishes them through the stargate, which he replaces in Antarctica.  
* As the Grey ship was detached from the stargate, they can no longer use it to travel between galaxies; therefore, the supporters of Enlil are stranded on Dilmun.

- The Vedi, along with a clone of Kane, arrive in the Sol system. They target Earth as a potential site of colonization. They manage to locate the sun's avatar, Soleil, and Kane convinces her to destroy Earth. After a short visit with a council of avatars, Soleil agrees and prepares a coronal mass ejection. On Earth, Minerva calculates this and attempts to prevent it with the aid of Juno.  
* Although the cause of coronal mass ejections are likely natural, a direct causal relationship has never been established by science. Minerva's response is detailed in Assassin's Creed II and beyond.

- Jupiter was too old and decrepit to do much in his condition, so Enki left command of his people to his son, Marduk, who was charged with finding the Adar. Instead, he was sent to aid Minerva and Juno in a project they believed was more important. Though he aided them at times, he was often only the overseer of their work, his mind still on the Adar.  
* This is when Minerva and Juno predicted the Toba catastrophe in Assassin's Creed (specifically mentioned in Revelations by a hologram of Jupiter). In actual Roman mythology, it would be unlikely to see Jupiter basically doing the work of Hephaestus/Vulcan (which is mechanical in nature). Since Jupiter was 'king' of the gods, it would be far more likely that he oversaw the project. The fact that he was 'charged' with doing anything at all (suggesting he had a superior in the Assassin's Creed universe) suggests that another was leader in his place. As a result, Enki becomes Jupiter, and leaves command to Marduk, as per Sumerian mythology.

- Minerva suggests that they genetically engineer bodies that could withstand the upcoming catastrophe. Juno suggested that they look into Enki's earlier creation of humanity for ideas, but Enki staunchly rejected her proposal. Instead, Minerva fashioned a body using genetic material from a dead human being. Juno's husband, Aita, volunteered to move his consciousness into the new body, but he could not withstand the stress it caused. After Juno put him out of his misery, she began to blame both Enki/Jupiter and Minerva, as well as all of humanity.  
* Juno's hatred of humanity has yet to be explored in Assassin's Creed, but this is my postulation. Enki's past research would not have been ignored in Minerva's proposal, but Enki would also want to avoid losing another like Kingu. This would also explain Juno's rivalry with Minerva and Jupiter.

- Shadow subtly warns Juno about Minerva and Jupiter/Enki's plans to imprison her in the same manner which Enki captured thousands of ascended Alterans long ago. Juno manipulates the data regarding that project, and when she is captured using one of Enki's devices, Minerva asks to use them in creating a defense against the upcoming calamity. Enki acquiesces to her request in the hopes that she can inadvertently recreate the Adar.  
* The device used to capture ascended Alterans was basically the same design as Minerva's 'Eye'. In fact, it was a similar device that Anu used when merging himself with his son, Enlil's, body and mind. The rest is, of course, revealed in Assassin's Creed III.

- Minerva creates the 'Eye' using the same data Juno had manipulated. However, this data made it so that Juno would be released when the device was used. Both she and Jupiter/Enki agree to avoid using the device, allowing the Toba catastrophe to occur unhindered.  
* Assassin's Creed III. It's entirely possible that her original consciousness was ensnared by another device, but thanks to the data manipulations, she was also 'inside' the Eye (which is connected to the same quantum dimension as the other devices); her body would have remained inside the Grand Temple and regained consciousness when the Eye was destroyed (as she may have taken that possibility into account when tampering with it), allowing her to repair it to store her consciousness again until Desmond released her.

- Soleil sends an intense coronal mass ejection toward the earth, causing destructive solar storms, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes that kill most of humanity and the First Civilization. Few survived in caves and temples. The Grey ship automatically creates a pocket dimension around itself during the chaos, and it is never found again.  
* Assassin's Creed Revelations shows the Toba catastrophe mentioned here. As the Grey ship exists outside the physical dimension at this point, it would be beyond Enki's reach. It should be noted, however, that it is not beyond the reach of the ronay.

- Almost immediately after the destruction, the Areas arrive and begin planting tripods deep underground in preparation for a future invasion. They also abduct a few survivors (three humans and one individual of the First Civilization) for genetic experimentation.  
* The aftermath explains how the Areas prepared the planet for future invasion in War of the Worlds (though there is a major difference in the chronology of the story). For those unaware of what 'tripods' are, you should either read H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds or watch one of the film versions (or all above).

- Enki and the survivors of both humanity and the First Civilization return to the surface and begin rebuilding the world. Among their constructions is the Tower of Babel, meant to serve as a reminder of the unification of humanity and the First Civilization. In short order, the survivors of the First Civilization begin to ascend, and only Enki will be left by the time the Areas return.  
* Vaguely referred to by Jupiter in Assassin's Creed Revelations. The Tower of Babel bit is from the Book of Genesis, though in this continuity, it was built long after language was 'scattered'.

- The Areas, under a half-human, half-Anunnaki clone of Kane, arrive in the Sol system once more. They take control of the tripods and begin wreaking havoc on Earth. Enki is unable to fight back with the First Civilization's weaponry. However, he engineers a series of viruses that infect much of humanity to this day; as this particular breed of Areas have been engineered to survive off the blood of humans, they are soon infected en masse and destroyed from within. Kane, however, escapes, although how is unknown.  
* In War of the Worlds, the invaders are killed by common viruses and bacteria, such as the cold. Although they (the viruses) also evolved on earth, in this continuity, they evolved from a series of viruses engineered by Enki at around this time. Kane has been shown to make miraculous escapes, such as his escape in the NOD victory at the end of Tiberian Sun; how he escapes is something to be explained in a future entry.

- After the tripods were destroyed, and both they and their pilots were whisked away into the quantum dimension used for trapping Juno and the ascended Alterans, Enki finished ascending. The rest of the Vedi are finally expelled from the Milky Way Galaxy some time after, and humanity is left to fend for itself on Earth.  
* That wraps up the tale of the Anunnaki. The Vedi will also not be mentioned for some time to come. Instead, here begins the Tales of Humanity.


	2. The End of an Era

**Author's Note:** This chapter will be best appreciated by those familiar with War of the Worlds. It's a short chapter, but I wanted a warm-up before trying more scenes like the one at the beginning of this chapter.

* * *

Through the portal etched into the center of the book, you see a marvelous tower of glass and marble. Each level is stacked atop the other, as though a brilliant wedding cake fit only for a god. Tall, white columns encircle the tower on each layer, and peculiar lines of gold ensnare the great temple as though a snake constricting its prey; these lines branch out into ornate patterns. At the top is a broad statue of a majestic, two-headed eagle, wings spread out to its sides; the statue is composed primarily of silver, with traces of gold etched into the outline of each feather, all connected to the golden 'tassels' along the tower's perimeter.

The tower sat in the center of a much greater city, though it overshadowed many of the weathered buildings below. Curved glass and chrome metal defined the city's many structures, but the occasional cracks and rust could not be ignored when each construction was viewed up close. As the image flies through the city, you also notice that it is revolving around the tower, slowly rising up from the ground until it stops on the eagle you saw before.

Suddenly, a flash of lightning obliterates the statue, and the image swiftly begins to descend the tower, its focus never veering from the top. The tower shatters from top to bottom, each exploding layer sending forth a horde of shards that begin to scatter and fall through the air above. When your view finally reaches the bottom, the fragments of the soaring edifice are still falling, even as another bolt of lightning strikes the ground where its marble support now stood in rubble. Another flash of lightning, and another, all mercilessly pummel the ground until there is a massive crater around the area that was struck.

Humans clad in bright, flowing robes and tunics warily approached the site after the residue of the tower completed the journey from heaven to earth. Their terrified expressions betrayed the dread they now felt. Though they were the descendents of those that survived Soleil's wrath, they knew little of the calamity that befell their ancestors. No doubt the wind, which blew toward the center of the storm clouds winding about above them, and the fierce lightning would have reminded them of that lost tale, had it survived the generations intact.

An elderly man with a long, white beard and robes of gold approached the crash site in haste. People made way for him, and he was able to stand in front of the crowd that had gathered. His eyes narrowed at the steaming crater that now stained their city, and he reached forward and brought a single fragment of debris into his outstretched hand with naught but his mind. As he began to caress its polished surface, another in ornate dress approached.

"What is it?" Before he could inquire about the piece of marble now in Enki's hand, he noticed the steaming crater in confusion. "Is that...?"

"Cold." Enki let the scrap fall from his hand into the crater. In his mind, this was an omen for another natural catastrophe. "Gather your people from the hinterlands, Utnapishtim. Take them to my temple in Eengura."

"But what is this? What will happen?"

Enki shot a cold glare at the human, who backed down with a grimace. "There is no time. Leave, now!"

Though he wanted to protest, Utnapishtim offered a nod and dashed through the crowd until he reached the outskirts of town. An explosion of stone and glass caused him to stop just outside the very edge of the city. As he looked back, the image focused just over his shoulder, revealing the city coming apart at the seams. Without word nor warning, Utnapishtim fled from the scene as the dust began to settle, unveiling a behemoth of a creature standing tall where the tower once had.

All that could be heard as the image faded to black was a deep, bellowing sound that echoed hauntingly through the vast shadow - and it was soon followed by the fading screams of people.

* * *

Utnapishtim was not the only one to evacuate his people thence to the temples located amidst the mountains of the earth. Others had also been driven to flee by the commands of their community's leaders, though some chose to stand and defy their world's besiegers. Cut down with each lash of scorching heat, those that fought back would forever be remembered as fools - for, in their arrogance, they defied the combined will of what future generations would consider their gods. However, such labels are of little import, for both coalitions did as their hearts commanded of them.

Fear, however, kept the people in the outer domains from believing the words of those sent to warn them. Their celestial invaders proved selective in targeting the most populated cities first, and few, if any, survivors would have family to return to in the countryside. When strangers entered their villages, people would entitle him a 'lunatic' for his psychotic babbling, for the survivors of the first attacks had often seen the chaos and death firsthand. Even the familiar relatives of villagers would be written off as insane for much the same reason, though their families would often listen intently.

After Enki unleashed the viruses that would undo the invaders, all that which I had written at the end of my previous entry would come to pass. I brought the image of the first attack to bear on this page, hoping to illustrate the event I would not - could not - describe. Many others would soon follow, and even those in the less populated regions would not be spared the trail of destruction wrought by those unhallowed sons of Mars. When the attack was over, and the people could emerge from their hollows, they would find nary a single contraption of the Areas - and those they would one day call 'gods' were gone, ascended to a plane beyond their own.

I cannot stress how alone mankind was on that day, for that lack of the familiar led to their everlasting dread and superstition, all of which still afflict humanity today. My people have had superstitions of their own, yet few lasted far past their inceptions. Humanity, on the contrary, has shown to hold a remarkable resilience to change of this sense. Their despair would endlessly color their beliefs, though no generation hence would be as afraid as they were on that day.

Though they were no longer cared after by those of Enki's kind, humanity chose to continue. Despite the tribulations of their past, they were determined to forge a better future for themselves.

It is a shame they also chose to let fear rule their hearts, for they would repeat the mistakes of their creators forevermore. Had they only overcome such shortcomings, they may have yet dealt a serious blow to that immaterial being(s) driving them. Alas, the spectral anchor(s) they were attached to may have been far too immutable for most to free themselves.

In the next few pages, I will elucidate on one group that may have succeeded - a group that Enki, now in his ascended form, would continue to watch over for ages to come.

Penned,  
The Orator


	3. The Genesis

Thousands of years after all that I have described, Enki's creations thrived. Earth, or Terra, was to become like the years immediately following the introduction of Enki's 'language' virus. The human population grew until they could sustain their world no longer. This was far from the first time such a thing had happened - and it would not be the last. But each time, humanity would resolve its problem with that very fear which continued to define them in ages hence. If the issue was not dealt with by humanity, then it was that very earth - and occasionally the sun - that prevented their overpopulation.

Yet, in the years following the invaders' attack, Enki did not completely abandon his tau'ri creations. Instead, he selected only a few of those directly related to Adapa and Eva, and he led them away from the lands they had long fought and suffered on. Performing a great many miracles along the way, to which humanity would long attribute to others, Enki brought those he considered 'his children' to an island in the midst of what would later be known as the 'Atlantic' ocean.

I have mentioned the Alterans, yet I had failed to mention their city upon Earth. It was called 'Atlantis', and it was a marvel of technology. However, this city was long located in Antarctica, where a minor base remained - and the stargate there had been the means by which the sons of Anu had arrived. Though it was never returned to the base, it was buried in the lands where Anu had found it. Yet this was not the crux of the issue for the Alterans: rather, it was a mere nuisance as those among them that still had corporeal form had long abandoned their creations in that galaxy.

A plague engineered by their Ori enemies began to take its toll on the Alterans that had settled Terra. Many tried to escape it by ascension, or by other means; yet, despite their best efforts, the disease continued to spread. In the end, Earth had to be abandoned, and so their city, Atlantis, was to be taken with them on a journey that spanned two galaxies. They would not return to this world until many thousands of years later, and by then, much will have changed. Of the time these few pages cover, however, there are no Alterans on Terra.

As a result, there is no Atlantis to speak of - none save that which Enki devised in his ascended state.

There was an island amid that sea, and that was where the descendents of Adapa and Eva were destined to live. While all of humanity remained in lands elsewhere, Adapa and Eva's progeny were rewarded with a place far from their brethren. This island was the source of one particular legend - one of many that postulated the existence of a place called 'Atlantis'. Here, away from the conflicts plaguing the tau'ri, the sons and daughters of Adapa and Eva were free to develop their own civilization. They did this, but not without the help of Enki.

Those that have ascended are often subject to the whims of a council of ascended beings, many of which are the Altera I spoke of. Even in a plane beyond our mortal coil, rules are enforced by groups of ascended in a manner befitting the relyimah of my people. Among these laws is this: that no ascended being could affect the lives of people within the physical realm. They could neither directly aid or harm those 'beneath' them, as doing so would tempt them to become like their greatest mistakes: the Ori. Such beliefs did not, however, prevent all ascended from taking an interest in those they were once among.

Some ascended beings, such as one named Oma Desala, sought to enlighten people among the worlds of our material universe. I cannot count how many among mankind were brought to ascension in this manner, but I do know that some became renown in terran mythology as a result. Regardless of this gross ignorance of law, the ascended permitted these attempts at aiding the corporeal. Perhaps they saw it as a matter of convenience, as their war with the Ori had not finished with their ascension; even in that ethereal venue, the Ori continued a struggle that the unascended Alterans had long since left behind. On the other hand, they could have considered the notion of enlightenment as altruistic: freeing minds from all physical suffering.

Whatever the case, other ascended beings took a more active role, and were often in danger of being exiled to the tangible realm once more. Enki was one of these, as he sought to provide his unique creations with a life to call their own. Although he did not interfere in the development of their own civilization, Enki brought forth a phenomenon that could replicate the effects of half-ascension for all those bathed within its light. Those beneath its glow could live only a quarter of the years Enki had, yet such a number is still significant, as many of the tau'ri within its embrace could live to be ten thousand years old.

However, the effect was limited to the island upon which Adapa and Eva's descendents had gathered. What more, the ascended of that galaxy had discovered Enki's plan, and sought to eradicate his creation. This led to Enki's ultimate sacrifice to save his beloved creations. The moment the ascended gathered to destroy the anomaly, Enki joined his essence with it - eradicating his individual self and becoming the very entity the ascended were to destroy. As their own law prohibited them from directly influencing the material, and perhaps due to some sympathy for what Enki had done, they left the singularity to its own.

I believe it was Oma Desala that personally defended Enki's actions, and her word carried the day among them. Were it not for her, the men and women of Adapa and Eva's blood would have been trapped on that island, where, barren as it was, they would have had little to eat or drink. Perhaps, then, their decision was not motivated solely of altruism alone, but by the word of their utmost law.

Enki's final creation became a crystal the moment he joined with it. It soon gave the humans beneath it pieces of itself, with which they could carry the light with them wherever they went. Not only could they live much longer than they otherwise would have, but they could also heal a great many injuries with naught but a touch. The island soon flourished, as Enki's teachings were discovered, and a thriving city developed. As though a climactic attempt at irony or flattery on Enki's part, the island became known as 'Atlantis' - no doubt named after the city the Alterans once had on Earth.

With its creation, the first stone of humanity's ultimate fate had been placed.

Mees. Yim rahshahthon r'ahchah meht misho tsahv teh. Here is where I write of us, the people of the root.

On Garternay, my people developed a complex society among themselves. The Art, of which I ascribed the means by which we travel among the universes of the supernal star fissure, was to be limited to certain people. The history by which this change occurred has long been lost to those of my kind, much as the earliest pages of history were lost to the tau'ri. However, it was this fact that led to the development of the early Guild of Writers.

To monitor and maintain the ethics of those who produced Ages, the king could enforce his will via the Guild of Maintainers. As writing an Age required knowledge of a key language, the Guild of Writers were responsible for teaching this Art to others they deemed worthy. Unfortunately, it was not merit that was often considered; instead, it was often the sons of wealthy men that would arrange for the guild's attentions. This guild would even become the inspiration for its successor, as developed by the first king of D'ni.

If creation consists of the act of foundation preceding the production thereof, then my people cannot be considered architects of other realms. On the contrary, those Ages we wrought had existed from the advent of our literary ventures. Time does not translate well between universes, though when connected via the Art, their modes of chronology are unveiled in a manner we can understand. Yet it seemed we had the ability to destroy those Ages we were responsible for unlocking. The very joining of universes with ours was an intensive, dangerous process - one even I would not have involved myself in had I known of the Adar.

The Guild of Writers has long existed among our civilization, and many wished to become seltahntee - writers of the Art. It was my ancestor, Fi'tai, who was among those illustrious figures. A descendant of the great prophet, Oorpah, Fi'tai was highly engrossed with our highest ideals. He sought after the Perfect Age, and was among the first to found what would one day be known as the 'Writers of Yahvo'. It was his wish that he could prove the existence of the Perfect Age by writing its corresponding link, believing that Yahvo would guide him in his endeavor.

But as is the case of many peaceful visionaries, there were those that saw his works as vile and heretical. Fi'tai was sent away from the Guild of Writers, and he went to join several others in a land far from there. However, this setback did not deter Fi'tai or his fellow writers in seeking the answer to a most pertinent question our universe could answer: what happens to us when we cease to be? It was as though Fi'tai sought to give all immortality through linking with the Perfect Age, yet he could not foresee what his efforts would eventually culminate into.

I will attempt to locate and append a portion of my ancestor's writings into the next few pages. His discoveries would soon lead to a united movement as engrossed in their efforts as Enki had been with his.

Should they have failed, none would be the wiser; but should they have succeeded, they would spawn the very chaos that would spell their ultimate destruction.

Penned,  
The Orator


	4. The Beginning of the End

**Author's Note:** This chapter is, admittedly, about a particular ronay. Though not exactly human, his people had an important effect on humanity. The next chapter will continue this story, as well as the tale of Enki's 'Atlantis'. It should reveal their roles in a grand epic involving the Goa'uld (of Stargate SG-1) and a secret war with mysterious origins. Stay tuned!

Also, regarding the stuff revealed in Uru: Ages of Myst, I'm accepting most of the game's revelations as canon. However, some aspects of the Myst continuity that contradict things revealed in Uru (such as several elements of the first two Myst games, including linking books that can transmit sounds into viewers' minds) are selected over the strict canon. Other than that, I try to stay as close to Uru as possible. I haven't read any of the books, but I'm hoping to start buying several in the future. If any of the information here contradicts something in the book, I will either correct it, or I'll explain it in a later entry. My apologies.

* * *

A scene is etched into this piece of parchment. The image moves upon the page as the others you had already encountered. However, it is what is inside the image that is unfamiliar to you.

You see a marvelous city of stone at the base of a dormant volcano. The otherwise exotic architecture resembles that of the ancient Mesopotamian cultures. Amidst the trapezoidal towers are shorter buildings of two or three floors each, apparently connected to each other in a manner resembling those of the residences in the ancient city of Ur. In the distance, you would see a great lighthouse that could put the one at Alexandria to shame; it was cylindrical and topped with a rounded roof composed of red tiles (like those used in Renaissance Italy). An open sea bordered the city on one side, and it appeared that the volcano in the distance was resting next to it. The rest of the realm, as far as you can see, is composed of mountainous hills blanketed in thick rainforest.

Though tempted as you might be, you know that this portal is as superficial as the others. Touching it would send you nowhere, and it would be a waste of time - albeit a very short waste of time.

When you turn your attention back to the image, you see it begin to zoom into the middle of the city streets, where people in simple robes and dresses stride in ease. The roads between the buildings are composed of a brown cobblestone, and you can clearly see the occasional sign or marking beside (or on) various doors. As the sky has begun to darken above the city, you notice spherical gas lamps of a sort, several already lighting the path beyond. A shout comes from a nearby alleyway, and the image begins to focus in that crevice.

A man, dressed in robes of black and red, scurried between buildings as hastily as he could. His expression was clearly one of fear and anxiety, and the way he gripped the book under his arm made no secret that he was tense. When he reached the end of the alley, his eyes darted left to right and back again, as though he was debating which way to go. Suddenly, the shouting of a particularly gruff man could be heard again, but the man did not turn to look; instead, the image ascended just above his shoulder, revealing three men in open robes (akin to those the Assassins wore on Earth) rushing toward him with spears and swords. People merely stared blankly as the man dashed away to the right, heading toward an end of the city facing the vast green expanse beyond.

Before he could reach the city wall, however, another trio of guards stepped out onto the road in front of him. The figure being pursued caught sight of an open door to his left, and with no time to lose, ran toward it. Though the guards soon covered that distance, the man had already entered the house and climbed the wooden ladder on the other side of the room. As two of them followed him in, the residence's family watching on in a mix of confusion and annoyance, the other joined the three that had earlier blocked the man's escape. They looked up at the rooftops for any sight of the man.

After a short amount of time, the men that had followed the hellion onto the roof cast their gaze across the city's rooftops, but saw no sign of the man. Thinking it best not to leave the matter unresolved, they returned to the ladder as quickly as they could, leaving behind the man, who was hanging off the edge of the building with his book gripped tightly with his free hand. Before the guards could pass that alleyway he had hidden between, the figure pulled himself back up and fell to his back. His breathing was heavy, and he looked wearily at the sky as the portal zoomed into his eye before fading to black.

* * *

Today, I presented my discovery to the Guild of Writers. I believed my forefathers would have been proud with this accomplishment. Years went into its writing, and despite the disapproval of others, I continued to persevere. I cannot, nor will not, ever complete it in my lifetime, but I know that one day, this final link in the chain of our existence will be forged. I wish only to leave behind a means by which we may live in eternal life, with no divisive ego keeping us separated.

I am Fi'tai, once of the Guild of Writers, now an exile from the Pahts Tehrtee - the city of the trees.

I searched far and wide for any information on the way we Writers describe physics. It was not enough that we could manipulate gravity or sound; nor would it be enough that we could change the very terrain our Ages produced, even though doing so has always been among our most complicated - and unsafe - endeavors. What I needed to know was how to manipulate the very essence at our cores - something no ronay before me has done.

My goal was to reach the Perfect Age without losing my life. Immortality had become more than just a dream - it became the very reason for my being.

To that end, I visited the prophet, Regor Gonahth. He was a kindly old man who could only speak in whispers, but his prophecies have always had meaning for we children of Oorpah. I remember his demeanor that night, for he was close to death - an illness had begun to seize him, and his speech was perforated by terrible coughs. One of his statements used the word 'scourge'. Though that prophecy had little to do with my search, it did correctly predict the spread of his illness for generations to come. One day, I fear, as Regor did, that it would be the destruction of our world.

Such a prophecy only led me to redouble my efforts in seeing that Perfect Age realized. Though it drove me forward, it was not until his next words that I began to see the light of truth - a light I still hold close to me.

He showed me a book he had long since received from a traveler. I did not learn much about this foreigner, save for the fact that he had come far to reach this city. Regor offered him a place to stay, but the stranger had refused; instead, he gave Regor a linking book and told him to keep it hidden until a certain person arrived. As Regor himself has said, that 'certain person' was me.

Who that mysterious figure was, I may never learn. But what he left behind brought hope to my wearied soul. Upon the pages of that ancient tome, I discovered many lines of text and diagrams, each describing the means by which the physics of our very souls control the essence of existence. Before I could thank the venerable old sage, he had passed on, leaving me with naught but that book - and a grave sense of urgency.

With my cloak, I hid the book until I reached my humble abode two blocks from the headquarters of our Guild of Writers. When I arrived, I took the book into my study, which was surrounded by walls and great shelves of books - many of them journals. None could see as I had seen, for as I opened that mystic codex, it was as if the secrets of the universe were revealed to me.

The text was written in a manner I had not seen before. Though the language was unmistakably ours, it was as if written in a completely new dialect. There were words which I had never encountered before, and each letter took new liberties with a language I thought I had come to know as ronay. What more, there was a dark portal in the center of the book; though I searched for more about the non-existent world it was meant to lead to, I was only met with silence.

Yet nothing could prepare me for what I had read. Still nothing could cause more dread than that single page - that very last page.

It was a prophecy, clearly written in the same language as the rest of the text - though it did notably include languages I had never seen before. It spoke of our Age - that of Garternay - as being exempt from much of the knowledge presented here. My heart had nearly stopped beating, as I wondered why someone would give me a book with knowledge I could not use. But I felt some minor relief when the prophecy continued, for it said that my descendents would one day travel to the Age where these words could be brought to bear with the greatest effect. What more, the prophecy revealed that it would be one of our own that would lead us to that Age.

In my excitement, I went to the Guild of Writers and presented my case to the others. Though I wished to bring the book with me, as I believed it to support my purpose, I left it behind; the stranger had gone to great lengths to keep it hidden with Regor, and I would not betray his wishes - especially if doing so meant risking the book's integrity.

The Guild dismissed me as a heretic, some even claiming that I should be put on trial for such arrogance - after all, it seemed as though I was equating myself to our god. Though I was warned not to pursue my goal, I did so anyway. With the aid of what few believed in the search for that eternal Age, I stole small quantities of the sacred paper and ink that gave us the ability to bring Ages to life. It was with those few pages, brought together in the form of a kortee'nea, that I began the arduous process of writing an age with those facts unveiled to me through the traveler's journal.

Fi'tai

The Orator


	5. The Root

**Author's Note:** With all this extra time to write, I thought I would focus more on Fi'tai's story first before continuing. Though it might seem unimportant now, it will turn out to be very important later.

Also, you might notice a few familiar crossover universes involved here. I won't give them all away, but I'll just say that the 'Ages' used in the Myst series have a lot of potential. I couldn't possibly let all the possibilities go to waste, now could I?

* * *

I have failed.

Too many years have passed since I last wrote in this journal. I had little time to write in anything but the kortee'nea of that Age I so desired to see. After the Guild of Writers dismissed my ideas, they sent the Relyimah to silence me. I resisted. I killed one of them in the haste of my retreat, and I would have died as well had circumstances been any different.

The stranger's journal, and the book defining every facet of my Age, are precious to me. Even then, I defended them with my life, as I still do today. Though I, an exile of my own people, am on the run, I have not forgotten that passion with which I approached the guild. Even with recent events-

I wish I did not have to write these next words, but if I leave them trapped in the recesses of my mind, I may forget them. That is something I do not wish for: to forget.

After my escape from Gahropat, I sought refuge across the border. It was a dangerous move, but I had little choice. If I had remained in the lands of the First Kingdom, I would have eventually been found and killed. For some time, the Relyimah continued to search for me, even beyond the lands of their jurisdiction. However, I managed to evade them much longer than I had expected. Much of my success was due to someone I met in the capital city of the First Kingdom's greatest rival, the People of the Rock.

Though both peoples are ronay, we did not often see eye-to-eye. The First Kingdom, otherwise known as the Diseased Horde today, believed themselves to be the center of our world. According to our history, we once held sway over the greatest empire our world had ever known. However, other civilizations saw us as pretenders: liars using false tales and deeds as a means of subjugation. We did not seek to subjugate other people, however - merely our own.

Despite all these illusions, our people were known as the most peaceful throughout the world. However, that was not to last, as our people were becoming arrogant and haughty. In time, they would wage a war with the rest of Garternay - but they did not expect one particular variable:

Me.

A woman named Evra rescued me when I was still young, fleeing from the pursuing Relyimah. Today, I weep to remember that escape; people I knew, even those friends that were closest to me, had lost loved ones to the Relyimah as punishment for my act. Even today, they will not speak to me. I am an outcast even among those that once supported me. As I fled into the hinterlands, I felt the cruel reality of my situation bear its great weight upon me. For once, I did not laugh nor stand tall; rather, the moment I stepped up to the gates of Ke'ra, I fell to my knees and wept.

The guards did nothing to help me, and the various merchants and travelers merely passed me by. So distraught by what I had seen, and what I had done to escape, I barely registered the gentle touch on my shoulder. When I first laid eyes upon her, I thought I was looking into the face of an angelic prophetess - for they were as angelic as the glowing sor'aht birds that fly about the buildings of Gahropat. But alas, she was not one of the elegantly dressed, groomed ladies of Yahvo. No, she was greater than them.

Her name was Evra - a word meaning 'eternal' in her people's language. She took me in when all hope seemed lost, and she nursed me back to health. Even when the Relyimah came to the city and found me in the marketplace with her, she helped me escape. She was so selfless and kind-

My words convinced her to join me in my endeavor, and for that, I shall never forgive myself. My very life threatened hers, and if I could, I would return to that day I first met her and erase myself from existence. But the past is the past, and for what it is worth, our memories together were not without merit.

We grew close, she and I, as we traveled the world together and wrote the Perfect Age. It was no simple journey, and we had our own share of difficulties, but we made it together.

It was a midsummer day when I proposed to her. We went through the customs of our peoples, shared by our mutual beliefs in Yahvo - undoubtedly caused by the close vicinity of the two kingdoms. My family was long deceased by then, murdered by the very Relyimah that sought after me - therefore, I was excluded from the traditional First Day Ceremony; instead, I mourned on that day, praying extensively to Yahvo that He would protect them in that Perfect Age until I could join them.

The Joining Ceremony took place upon a world with a vast enclosure on an ocean floor. The priestess was an elderly woman that had conducted the ceremony for Evra's sister and brother-in-law. They, too, would be present at the ceremony, and later, for a good portion of our lives. As our wrists were tied together by the ceremonial cord, and the silver ring placed over the end finger of my untied hand, I could see a majestic school of bright fish pass over and around the enclosure. The effect was magnificent, as the entire ceremonial area had a glow that only accentuated Evra's absolute beauty.

The prophetess claimed the event signified a long and prosperous life for us. But even as I partook of the wine Evra had sipped from, I knew that was not to be. That fear was but one of many that I had rejected then and there, but it would forever haunt me in the years to come. Evra was far too precious, and all the most precious things were fragile. Had I listened to my heart that day, I might have abandoned my gift to the ronay - that Perfect Age I had dedicated my life to finding.

Instead, our marriage only strengthened my resolve. As all ronay did in marriage, we became more than one body - we became one mind. Together, we solved the puzzles brought forth to us by the challenge of writing the Perfect Age itself. It was not easy, as we had to often deviate with other life matters, but we did not leave either the kortee'nea or the journal to gather dust. Instead, we sought the support of the local Guild of Writers among the People of the Rock, who were far less superstitious than the people I was bound to all my life.

With their support, we were able to continue our work, though not without the occasional detractor. Some of the ronay among the People of the Rock thought us mad, and would not sell us any of their goods. It soon became clear that we could not remain in the city unless we had help from another, higher, source. That was when we approached the prophetess that had granted us our wedding. Her name was Kaela, and she brought our case to the king himself.

As it so happened, the king heard of our endeavor, and our approach must have lent him the perfect opportunity to offer us a place to stay. The palace was far more grand, and we wanted for nothing. The king, Pah'kr was more than supportive in our endeavors. We were making excellent progress on the Age when an unexpected event brought our attention away from the project.

Evra gave birth to a son we named Rem'sev. Though we had abandoned the Perfect Age for some time after, we had not forgotten about it. Rem'sev received all the love and education we could provide, and Pah'kr was happy to be of help. However, we did not see Pah'kr much in his last days. Rather, it was often Kaela who helped us rear the lad. At the behest of my wife, I agreed to name Kaela as the child's guardian, should anything happen to either of us.

Perhaps I had known all along that something would happen, and I did not wish our strife on the child.

Whatever the case, a war broke out between the People of the Rock and the First Kingdom. This was not long before the death of Pah'kr at the hands of an assassin, who was never caught. In his place, his nephew was brought to the throne. He was inexperienced in the matters of war, as his father had never seen it necessary to teach him such violent ways.

The People of the Rock had no generals, and were otherwise unprepared for the war that was thrust upon them. The First Kingdom had begun carving through the realm, leaving only tattered homes and distraught widows in its wake. It was not until the fourth settlement had fallen that I was called in to young Ne'rar's throne room. Though I initially had no idea why he wished to see me, a mere Writer given refuge by his father, I was surprised when he asked me to become his general.

His rationale was that I had spent much time in Ages where conflict was prevalent. My search for answers led me to those Ages to learn of the conflict between light and dark - good and evil. I desired to know the nature of morality and how it influenced our very essence. What I learned was put into the Perfect Age, in the hopes that I could strike a balance between the two that would never see the same sort of disunity I had observed.

What was unique about me, as Ne'rar put it so eloquently, was that I had experienced war in many forms. I would know how to wage a war in the most effective manner, and none would be better suited to leading an army than I. Though I now see that war as another example of our passions getting the better of us, I could see nothing else but the chance for revenge at the time. So, without hesitating, I accepted the king's offer, and immediately told Evra of the news.

She was not pleased with my choice. I was a father, and I was beholden to both my child and my wife. But it was not just that which led Evra to chastise me. It was the fact that I had sought peace for so long, it had become a part of who I was. She had loved me for that idealism which kept me from harming others; and when I was responsible for the injury of another, I would weep and seek reconciliation. But, blinded as I was with the prospect of revenge, I did not heed her words.

Were that I was as wise as I am now, I would have listened to her. Yahvo always spoke through the women first, and their words often carried a wisdom beyond themselves. That was, however, not of the culture from which I was raised. In the First Kingdom, although women could be prophets, they were not looked upon as equals or superiors to men. Though not all women are blessed with foreknowledge of events to happen, many spoke sensibly enough that they could be regarded as much as any man.

But in spite of this, it was a woman that was controlling the war.

Though women were forbidden from holding any power over a king, it was sometimes the king's own wife that held sway over the realm. The unforgiving, middle-aged man that had been my king was at fault for this very reason: that his wife tempted him to bring a show of force to the People of the Rock. Some said that it was jealousy that drove her to such action; others said she was merely mad. But both Evra and I were aware of the truth.

Her name was Yi'ldra, and she was as difficult as her husband. A distant cousin of Evra's, she had become a prophetess in the lands of the First Kingdom, where no laws existed regarding the relationship between a prophetess and her king. Those that knew her, including my dear wife Evra, said that she was passionate in her worship of Yahvo, yet her teachings were always violent and without compassion. She saw Yahvo as one who thrived off conflict, and even several of those that considered her a madwoman reported seeing her praying to a great wall of flames in the Garo/Great Temple.

Whatever the truth of these tales, she was soon married to the king, and through him, began instigating policies that brought the military of the First Kingdom into an age long forgotten to history. In ancient times, wars were fought with weapons of destructive power - hollow logs that could launch invisible projectiles across vast distances. Together with the exploding metal spheres called grenades, these so-called guns were effective in killing thousands upon thousands. When the First Kingdom was finally defeated, a fact hidden in my people's history books, the technology was destroyed by a joint coalition of all the kingdoms that fought against it - along with the Age from whence they, and the necessary gunpowder, came from.

Yi'ldra discovered the Age, one I still know to be waging wars innumerable, as it was among those I visited in my search. Undoubtedly aided by that naive people within, whom had also begun writing Ages with materials replicated on their world, Yi'ldra acquired thousands more of the ever-destructive devices. The victories her generals were winning had not been those of skill, but rather, those of pure technological innovation. Therefore, I knew that I had an advantage - one among many.

Among those advantages was access to Ages with friends experienced in war.

My first battle was led with the old warrior, Fai'lak, a man from the Age of Achaea. We gathered our army in the rolling forests between the settlement of Ji'gahn and the approaching army under general Vier. At my mark, we sent boulders wrapped in cloth and set aflame onto the marching infantry, focusing our archers on the survivors as our soldiers engaged the rear of Vier's force. When he made as if to strike a crippling blow at our flanks, the men did as we had long practiced and formed a wall of shields and spears four rows thick, even as the first three cut down each resisting soldier on the opposing side. I soon came to name it the Fai'lak Formation, after the man who drilled the men for countless hours in the technique.

During my second battle, I fought alongside Testud, a warrior from the Age of Thera, who joined with the stipulation that he remain away from the main battle. Understanding of his fear, I acquiesced to his desire and took command of his forces in his place. The men were trained to use shields of a bright, reflective material to create the illusion of a glorious light descending upon the battlefield, as each man held their shields all around them - even above their heads! The reflections of their shields caused the inaccuracy of our enemy's bullets, and even Vier himself was slain when he ran into an approaching unit of those stalwart warriors.

It was at the time of my third battle that news reached me from Ke'ra. Evra had given birth to twin daughters, who she named Illia and A'dra - names that meant 'Jewel of the Mountain' and 'Light of Yahvo' respectively. Rapt with joy, I feasted with my comrades at the day's end. Though we would lose some battles, we would never lose so many lives as to constitute a retreat. Even as I made a toast to my newly born daughters, my mind was on that Age that Yi'ldra had rediscovered.

The Age had once been called the Age of Pegasi by my people. There, legend said we discovered and subjugated a civilization of scientists. In time, our own kind discovered the secrets therein, and replicated many of the inventions found therein. This was at a time when we were still fighting with clubs and brittle swords of bronze. However, the reality was that we merely traded with the outsiders, agreeing to supply them with the papers and ink necessary to write our Ages in exchange for the weapons of war which were used to conquer numerous peoples.

Though I had never experienced it at the time of that war, I would later visit the sprawling city within. Most of their people were scientists, and they called themselves the Genii. I do not know what has happened to them since then, but I have little doubt that their people will fight over the Art and its source - Garternay. They may not have been our only enemy from a realm far beyond ours, however, as I would soon discover the moment I entered Gahropat.

After many more battles, we were upon the great city of Gahropat. As I looked out at the city I had called home for so long, I thought myself invincible. Even I had been blinded by my own hubris, much as the First Kingdom had. Yet my gaze on the city was torn away when an officer approached with grave news.

Young Ne'rar, the king for whom I had fought so long and hard, had grown wary of my success. In his envy, he tried to have my wife imprisoned, though the elderly Kaela had escaped with our children. Evra, for her part, had disappeared. Though I wished to return and find her, I was convinced to focus my efforts on Gahropat first. So long as Yi'ldra had access to the Age of Pegasi, we would forever be in danger of further attacks during the retreat - not to mention the number of innocent lives the First Kingdom would slaughter when they would inevitably attempt to expand beyond their measly borders once again. With but a prayer to Yahvo regarding my wife's safety, I focused on the matter at hand.

I had never before seen a siege as bloody as the one I had witnessed. Practically the entire army of the People of the Rock had joined me outside the city gates, and many of them scaled the ladders and siege towers laid out by the mastermind architect from the Age of Hyrule, an odd figure by the name of Gulley. It was Gulley's contribution that kept us from taking too many casualties. The first few rows of our soldiers used what Gulley called Sacred Shields. These were the first shields I had seen capable of deflecting the fatal bullets used by the First Kingdom's soldiers. After one row had stepped forward and deflected a series of bullets, another row would step in front of them, for - as it so happened - Gulley's shields could repair themselves through some unknown means.

Alongside the other innovations long adopted by our armies, we shattered the city's walls and brought much death and suffering upon the inhabitants. Even old friends fell to the sword, as I was powerless to stop the ravaging of my home city. Gulley had also seemed taken aback by this senseless slaughter, and I reluctantly allowed him safe passage to his home Age to reflect. With the city secured, I was able to enter without fear.

When I heard Yi'ldra had locked herself within the Great Temple, I immediately rushed there with sword in hand, hoping to end that nightmare once and for all. Instead, what I found caused the blood to rush to my face.

Yi'ldra was covered in flames, yet she did not burn. Another female figure was there as well, though I could not tell if she was also engulfed by fire or if she actually was the fire. Whatever the case, it did not speak to me. It merely spoke words that translate awkwardly in my language: "Hallowed are the Ori." Then, I was trapped in a duel with Yi'ldra for the fate of the entire city, for if she lived, I had no doubt she would lead it into destitution once more.

Empowered by whatever that entity had been, Yi'ldra soon overcame me, and I found myself staring death in the face. It wasn't until she had prepared another of those infernal flames in her hand that my life flashed before my eyes. That was when Yi'ldra had unleashed her power on me.

That was when Evra fell, slain by the attack that was meant for me.

I do not remember well what happened after, nor do I care to do so. All I know is that I managed to kill Yi'ldra, as if strengthened by a most vengeful Yahvo. I fell to the floor, holding my wife tightly to my body as I cried out for her sake. She did not breath, and-

(You notice what seem to be faded marks where tear drops had hit the paper.)

Though I wished to seek vengeance on Ne'rar, hoping to put the blame on someone other than myself, I discovered that he had been assassinated by an imperial guard that had been nothing but loyal to Pah'kr. He was very kind and understanding, though I do not remember his name. After my wife's burial, I left that city and began the journey to which I am nearing my end now. I have since settled once more in Gahropat, with the new Guild of Writers obeying my every word. I blame myself for all that has happened. I could only hope to find forgiveness in my writing.

During all this time, I have never forgotten that old journal - nor have I ignored that Perfect Age, where my loving wife now resides:

An Age I will forever call the Age of Evra - the _Age of Eternity_.

Fi'tai Ah'rotnan

The Orator


	6. The Expedition

Though Fi'tai soon destroyed the Ages he had written, as well as the Age of Pegasi, he did not do so without making one last foray into one. I do not know to which Age he went, but there he stayed, leaving behind the journal and the descriptive book for his children. His last act as Grand Master was to codify an early form of the law that dictated the existence of our Guild of Maintainers, and the rules by which one was allowed to write an Age. Afterward, Kaela, the guardian of my ancestors, handed Fi'tai's children over to the man who would become the great-grandfather of the one that sheltered me.

One Age survived on Gartnernay, though it was soon whisked away to another. This Age was Hyrule, and it soon became one of the most complex Ages in existence. Those that wrote in its accompanying kortee'nea would often be careful not to contradict previous entries too strongly, but the face of that universe changed so many times, the very book itself had a history of change that far exceeded the history of those people within it. I write of it because it was one of many Ages I had visited in my time among mortals, and it developed in a way unlike many of our other Ages.

The Art did not develop far among the Genii, and it was soon abandoned. A select few remained stewards of the holy books, but legend said that a species, known as the Wraith, had destroyed the library containing those otherworldly texts. True as this is, several of the linking books survived in the hands of a few, who spread across the Pegasus Galaxy of that very universe we would one day visit again. Those books may still be hidden out there, perhaps buried under the rubble of many civilizations. The Wraith would not have preserved any of them, as they did not have need of books - especially those written by a species meant only to sustain them.

Perhaps I am getting ahead of myself. These events took place long before the following, and it was not my intention to confuse anyone who finds my journal. On the other hand, I have learned that the ronay had always written works that confused the people of other species. The many Ages we had visited long ago were composed of many, disparate forms of physics, such that outlanders did not understand as we did. Even the workings of our devices were unknown to many, and it would take an exceptional amount of patience and mindfulness to use them properly.

Back on the distant world of Terra, at the behest of the other ascended, Enki had destroyed all of his research, as well as any journals or texts the tau'ri could find, save for those creations that remained in his temple. The Atlantians would remain ignorant of their ancestry, stretching back to the times of Adapa and Eva. This led much of their kind to see the past as mere legend, and such a thing was not difficult, for by that time, facts had been recast as exaggerated tales of mysticism.

A young Atlantian historian, named Gomda Setimaka, sought after evidence for his people's legends. Though all of Enki's records had long since disappeared, the human tales of his people remained, as unreliable as they were in many details. It was there, among the ancient scrolls, that Gomda discovered the tale of E-kur - the temple of the gods where all humanity was fashioned. Atlantis had little need for maps of the outside world, as they remained isolated from the rest of their brethren, so Gomda had to seek land himself.

After many years, Gomda was able to possess a small fishing vessel. He did not realize that such a simple craft would not be able to take him across the ocean, though many tried to warn him. It was his lust for adventure and discovery that led him to ignore the pleas of his family and friends, and he set off toward the east. Predictably, he would not make it to the coast of the land there. Instead, a storm took him far off course, and though it eventually capsized his ship, he had managed to survive by a stroke of good fortune.

Washed upon a small glacier, Gomda would awaken to discover his precarious situation. He was in the frozen wasteland on Earth's southern pole. Although prepared for a long voyage, he had not anticipated the conditions to which he was then subjected.

With little idea of where to go, he stumbled in one direction, praying that he would be led to the answers he sought on the great continent he now found himself.

Enki, though no longer an ascended being, could still follow Gomda through the crystal he carried around his neck. He could neither hear nor aid Gomda in any direct manner, due to his distance from the Source; however, this did not stop him from attempting to do so. No longer bound by the laws of the ascended, except in certain cases, Enki's Source was capable of communicating to Gomda in abstract dreams. It was these dreams that led Gomda through the blistering winds and dense snow to a place he would stumble upon:

A small base left over by the Anquietas - the Alterans of that galaxy - when they fled Terra. It was here that Gomda found shelter, and even more importantly, discovered the existence of those who created the chapa'ai located all across the galaxy. In time, as Gomda explored the interior of the structure, he learned how to operate its complex machinery. With the secrets of the so-called 'Ancients' now open to him, Gomda sought evidence for the existence of his people's legendary Enki - but he found none. Dejected, Gomda nearly reneged on his promise to bring back proof of his people's legends.

That was when he was visited by an ascended being that had supported Enki in his wordly life. This entity, a woman named Nidaba, was once a teacher among humanity after the great catastrophe. After ascension, she joined Oma Desala's faction in aiding people from many different worlds ascend to their own plane of existence. Though she did not appear in Gomda's dreams as the Source did, she did appear as her Alteran host. With her words of encouragement, Gomda determined to continue seeking answers, for he would need to put his mortal affairs behind him before going on the journey to ascension.

With a device capable of locating the chapa'ai gateways throughout the galaxy, Gomda discovered one on Terra. Records of where it had been before were destroyed by Enki, and the base had very little else to offer. In short order, Gomda had left to find his answer. In his mind, it was the Anquietas that had brought them to the paradise they had lived on for thousands of years, and it would be their greatest achievement that would shed light on their existence. Soon after, he would locate that so-called 'stargate' and draw it in his journal, along with the location and structure of the Alteran base he had discovered.

Although I could write every trite detail that occurred, including the means by which he returned to Atlantis, I would prefer not to waste space in this journal for such trivial concerns. 'How' is always less important than 'why' in this story, unless it proves a most important effect, but I will admit one detail so that the reader might be able to retrace the man's trail. He returned to his city of Atlantis by way of an Alteran craft I have heard called a 'puddle jumper'. Perhaps there is a means to follow its ancient wake to and from the source, though I know little of the technology itself.

What I am aware of is that the recovery of this 'puddle jumper', together with the observations made in his journal, led to an industrial revolution among his kind. Though they continued to use the power of the Source, that crystalline entity Enki had joined his very essence with, they had found a mystic means by which to connect their latest innovations to its core. In time, the ability of the 'puddle jumper' to fly nearly any distance was drawn into intricately carved statues called 'animoi', and the energy fields of the 'drone' weapons became the basis for beams of light each 'animoi' could fire at a target.

As for the chapa'ai, it was soon sought after by an Atlantian expedition led by Gomda - but not before another would come into possession of it.

This small world had once been the possession of the Anunnaki - those Goa'uld possessing the minds and bodies of half-ascended beings. When they were divided, some left through the arcane portal, while others eventually reached a point of ascension long after the eruption of Sol. None would guess that the Goa'uld from whom they originated would ever find this world again, but such was its fate in the face of a cruel universe manipulated by an increasingly malicious being.

When the parasitic creatures were just beginning an era of expansion across the galaxy in the wake of the Vedi, a great many intrigues among them and their Unas hosts led to daily conflict. Though the 'System Lords', as they came to be known, had been united under the leadership of one called 'Ra', they were far too arrogant and self-assured to cease all their petty disputes.

One such dispute regarded a Goa'uld named Ammit, who was pursued by another named Sekhmet. As with many struggles among the System Lords, Sekhmet had a personal issue with Ammit. However, it was the fact that Ammit had uncovered Sekhmet's plot to overthrow Ra that gave Sekhmet all the reason to capture and execute her.

Only losing her pursuer in a star vessel meant to carry cargo, Ammit found herself in the Sol system at a time when humanity had spread across all of Earth. Still at an early stage of development, the tau'ri could not understand the significance of this unwelcome visitor. Ammit's craft crashed in Antarctica, far from those domains swarming with tau'ri. She had located the Ancient structure by means of an Anquietas database discovered on a world once inhabited by those that had long since ascended.

With access to the knowledge of the Alterans, Ammit was able to bring life to several of the systems, much as young Gomda had. However, she was not on a quest for knowledge. In her predicament, she had discovered a new world once ruled by the Ancients - a world ripe with opportunity. What she would need first, however, was a decent host to survive the arctic conditions - her Unas would not sustain her for long in that environment.

When the Alterans had fled the world of Terra, they had left behind several of their kind - several of whom were among the greatest doctors on Atlantis. Gomda had not found them because he was focused on locating the means by which the protectors of his ancestors had went between his world and theirs; exploring the structure had been of little concern to him, thanks to the directions of Nidaba. Instead, it was Ammit that soon discovered these Ancients, waking them to a life that would soon not be theirs.

Using the same technology operated by Gomda, Ammit located this world's chapa'ai and moved to retrieve it with her personal bodyguard.

Penned,  
The Orator

* * *

"There it is," Gomda said in awe. No matter how many times he had looked upon the marvelous ring of 'stone' and 'metal' before him, he could not disguise his fascination. He opened the journal in his hands and held it up so everyone could see his diagram of the portal, together with such information that linked it to the legends of old. "Proof that the gods once walked the earth. This was how they traveled the great distance between our world and their heavenly realm."

None could deny that spectacular sight, even as the bitter cold wind covered their unexposed skin in ice. Most of them were strong and tall, meant to be among the team that would lift the gate from its place here beneath the arctic mountains above. Between them stood what you could only assume was Gomda, as he was much smaller, a tuft of white hair sticking out of the blue hood of his cloak. All of the expedition wore similar cloaks that were thick with layers and silver ornamentation.

Gomda stepped forward with a lopsided grin on his face before turning to address the other fourteen, the book closing in his hand as he approached. "This is it! This is what we've been looking for!" His head turned so he could regard the chapa'ai with mute wonder. "The stargate."

"My stargate."

The team swiftly turned to look upon the source of the feminine voice. A woman wearing a long robe of silver stepped forward slowly, followed in tow by two others carrying staffs of a kind Gomda had never seen before. Gomda had reported that the frozen land upon which he discovered the stargate had long been abandoned by all forms of life; only now did the expedition realize how important that statement had been, as they had not brought weapons for any such encounters. The silence that followed was strained and uncomfortable, as both the painted Atlantians and the possessed Ancients faced off.

It did not take long before Gomda pushed his way to the front of the team. At first, he narrowed his eyes at the newcomers, but that healthy skepticism was soon replaced by a nervous grin. "Ah, h-hello." Ammit did not respond, prompting the young man to chuckle in a failed attempt at lightening the sinister mood that now permeated the cave. "I-I'm Gomda Setimaka. This," he indicated the rest of the team with a wave of his hand. "This is my team. We're here to bring this... this _ring_ back to our home, Atlantis."

Once more, Ammit said nothing. Gomda cleared his throat and said, "If you don't mind me asking, what... how did you get here?"

"That does not concern you," Ammit responded in a clearly demanding tone. Gomda was visibly intimidated by the stoic manner in which she spoke, and the two men flanking her were undoubtedly difficult to ignore, considering the great staffs they carried. "Leave this place now, or I will remove you."

"Now w-wait a second," Gomda held up his hands for a moment, while the rest of his team grew ever more tense. "I think we got off on the wrong start here. See, we just came for the stargate. It's the way our gods traveled between this world and the next. It's an integral part of our history - our culture!"

"I care not for your piteous culture. I am here for the chapa'ai."

Raising her hand, Gomda thought she was about to make a gesture of peace common among his people. Instead, his eyes focused on what was in the center of her palm: a red jewel held suspended by gold fit over the fingers, though in a somewhat uneven manner, as though the device had been designed for something with large, three-fingered hands.

Before he could determine what it meant, a beam of red energy shot out from the jewel in the center and engulfed the front of Gomda's forehead. Suddenly in the great pain and agony, though unable to avert his gaze from the crystal, Gomda fell to his knees and let out a weak grunt as his teeth began to grit together. "W-what..." Before he could finish, the book he had been carrying fell from its otherwise careful grip, and his arms went limp.

"You will obey me," Ammit prophesied.

The moment the others realized what was happening, however, Ammit's bodyguard hoisted their weapons to their hips and took aim. Just as they were about to attack, hoping to swarm Ammit and stop the senseless violence to the man that had unlocked the secrets of their past, the tips of the staff weapons seemed to charge with electricity as they opened, four corners moving aside to make way for what seemed the barrel of a gun.

Moments later, the entire Atlantian expedition laid dead, their bodies scattered throughout the cavern as they each took to either fleeing or seeking a way to rescue their comrades. When it was over, Gomda was released from Ammit's immaterial grasp of his mind, and he fell to the ground, unconscious. She approached the stargate slowly and deliberately, passing between the bodies of the fallen without giving them so much as a glance.

"Bring him," Ammit commanded of her guards in a cruel tone. With a smirk exposing only sinister malice, Ammit looked up at the chapa'ai. "We will need someone to be the bearer of bad news."


	7. The Escapade

It had been some time since the people of Terra had seen the leadership of the Goa'uld, but Ammit was far less ingenious than the cruel, pernicious form of Anu. She relied almost entirely on the preexisting Alteran technology, and few, if any, attempts were made at studying their accomplishments beyond how to use them. Unlike Enki, Ammit did not develop new technology based off the original works of those she derived her power from - she merely used them, and put to death any that dared to ask how those abilities worked.

That was not to say that Ammit was a fool, for she knew better than to contact the System Lords after learning of Sekhmet's betrayal. Instead, she kept the stargate nearby, in case she would have to evacuate the planet with her followers. Gomda became her closest slave, as it was he who brought the news of Ammit's arrival to the people of Earth. Using the stargate to contact only her most trustworthy supporters, Ammit amassed an army of nearly six hundred Unas and their four masters. This was to become the foundation for the Dynasty of Ammit.

Ammit was far from cowardly, and her tactical genius could only be surpassed by the children of Adapa and Eva on the isle of Atlantis. However, Ammit would not learn of the island for some time, nor would she believe the tales spoken of that pitiable, broken figure that had been called Gomda - a name Ammit changed to better suit his new position: Aken, Speaker of the Gods. In the myths of later centuries, he would be called 'the ferryman' for two reasons: first, he often traveled the great distances required of him by boat; second, he would demand several hostages from the people to be brought back to Ammit, where many believed they would suffer for all eternity.

One day, however, a village on the edge of Ammit's unjustly-gained territory received visitors from the isle of Atlantis. They were seeking the one named Gomda and his team. Their quest had taken them many years, and Gomda had nearly forgotten his people, much as he had lost all hope. When Ammit learned of the visitors, she had Gomda go and retrieve them, though he resisted the very notion of being the one to call them into slavery.

"You have not spoken against my will in many years, Aken. Are these outsiders that important to you?" Gomda shook his head, as it remained bowed in her presence. Ammit merely smirked. "Then you will not mind if I order them killed - or better yet, made to become slaves in the mines near my temple in Damas."

"No!" Gomda suddenly shouted as he looked up at her defiantly. Before he could say anything else, one of Ammit's guards approached and stabbed him in the back with something that resembled a brand - and with much the same effect, it would cause a terrible burning sensation that could bring down nearly any human. When Gomda was forced onto his knees in this manner, he grit his teeth and began to sob quietly.

"So you do know of them," Ammit said, as if expecting it from the very beginning. She waved Gomda away. "Then it is only appropriate that you be the one to bring my message to them. Invite them to the palace." As the guards forced Gomda to his feet and began ushering him out with force, Ammit seemed to look straight through the portal on the page.

"We most show courtesy to our guests, after all."

It was some time later that Gomda arrived in the small village of primitive huts. Unlike the searing climate of the desert from which Ammit's unwilling messenger came, the air here was far colder. While the occasional Unas guard patrolled the streets, frightening any nearby tau'ri with its feral snarls and hisses, there were few of Ammit's followers from those other-worldly venues. Most were stationed in the fortress at the top of the hill overlooking the village - one of many such fortresses built all across the countryside.

After being brought into the tent of the village elder, who was not much older than thirty, Gomda saw the faces of two people he had hoped he would never see again: his brothers, Apiatan and Lallo. "Gomda," they both exclaimed in surprise. Overjoyed to see their brother alive and well, considering his decorated appearance, they soon embraced him. Gomda's face betrayed his guilt and discomfort, but out the corner of his eye, he could see the Unas that had accompanied him from Aegyptus, and he knew it wouldn't be letting him out of its sight.

"Brothers." Gomda let out a sigh as they began to bombard him with questions regarding his whereabouts. All he could answer in return was what Ammit had instructed of him: "I did not find what I was looking for. The rest of the expedition died of the cold, and I was found and rescued by one named Ammit."

Those words were spoken ever so reluctantly by the aging Gomda, who had begun growing at a normal rate for the tau'ri not under the warm glow of Enki's Source. The brothers could see that something was wrong, and they eyed the Unas guard suspiciously. However, there was little they could do in their current position. Attempting to collect themselves, they asked Gomda about his so-called 'rescuer'.

"Ammit is a god who came from the heavens to reclaim our world." As Gomda spoke, his head was bowed and he seemed to be praying for his ancestors' forgiveness between sentences. "She is the rightful ruler of these lands, and she has brought the people here out from the dark ages."

Both the brothers feigned fascination, which prompted Gomda to finally look them in the eyes. One of the brothers gave him a subtle smile, as though trying to indicate that their reaction was merely an illusion. Though Gomda suddenly felt a wave of relief wash over him, he felt the sudden shove of the Unas guard bringing him to attention. It indicated that it was time for him to leave and return to his own cabin, where he would spend the night before leaving for Aegyptus in the morning.

Reluctantly, Gomda left his brothers behind and returned to the dark recesses of that hut he was forced to call home for now. He began to doze off after writing of his interactions with Apiatan and Lallo; such record-keeping was normal for someone in his position. Though you could not see the dream he was having, it would not take much to guess what it was: he and his brothers living their childhood in Atlantis, without a care in the world.

When the moon finally reached the very top of the sky, Gomda was awoken by the sound of rustling grass just outside his hut. Before he could even look out the barred window, a hushed 'psst' sounded from nearby. Focusing on the origin of the sound, Gomda saw Lallo standing just outside a window, peering in at him. "Don't worry, brother," Lallo said as he reached in and took Gomda by the hand as a gesture of encouragement. "We'll get you out of here."

Before Gomda could even ask how, as the Unas guard was far too powerful for even two of them, he received his answer. In the distance was a familiar sound: the humming of an engine derived from the Ancient technology. Just as Lallo told Gomda to stand back away from the front door, a sound of something like lightning could be heard lashing out. Suddenly, the door, along with much of the front of the hut, flew apart in one great explosion that had undoubtedly woken up the entire village. When Gomda peered up from the fetal position he had drawn himself into, he could see Apiatan descending on an animoi, Lallo running up beside him.

With a beaming smile, Gomda immediately ran toward them and took Apiatan's hand. After Lallo hopped onto the back, they flew off into the night. What they did not account for was the fact that several of the Unas guards had seen the flight, as did a number of the villagers. News passed quickly among them, and soon, the 'rumors' found their way to Ammit's throne room.

"What?!" Ammit's hand clenched into a fist before she stood from her throne. One of the Unas guards had led a small procession of his fellow warriors from the village, and they were now all bowing before their god. "How could you let them escape?!"

"They had technology beyond what we had expected, great Mother. We did not believe the villagers when they told us of this."

Ammit felt her throat clench, as she would have made the same judgment as those Unas did. However, she was not the kind to admit when she would have made a mistake. After all, she was a goddess - Mother of all mankind and bringer of justice to everyone therein. She could not afford to make mistakes. If only she had the wisdom and forsight the Anunnaki had - but, unfortunately for her, Enki did a most thorough job erasing the evidence of their existence.

"Take them out and kill them," Ammit ordered one of her royal guards. Though the Unas from the village were about to protest, Ammit silenced them by holding up her palm and revealing that same ruby that was used to distill the will of Gomda during their first encounter; this time, however, it was designed to fit her new fingers perfectly. "I do not want to see them again."


	8. The War

Though the denizens of Atlantis tried their best to isolate themselves once more, Ammit was far more persistent in seeking her revenge for the humiliation she had suffered. The island was not as capable as the city once used by the Anquietas/Alterans, and it could not remain hidden for long. With her extraordinary knowledge of Goa'uld technology, Ammit was able to soon develop many 'death gliders', as they were known. With these birds of prey, no terran was safe, and it was only a matter of time before Ammit discovered the location of the island and its Source.

The first wave was not completely unexpected, and the Atlantians were able to fend off the gliders using their own animoi. They did not rest on their laurels, however, for Ammit was soon to send further waves, and they would have to face a war regardless of whether or not they desired it. Gomda became the leader of a sect that evacuated from the city, hoping to either outrun - or hide from - the cruel 'god'. One day, they would settle in the lands of what I believe would be called 'North America', and their descendants would spread from there into the west, where they would intermingle with the native cultures and influence them in ways that would long be forgotten.

Back on the island of Atlantis, new forms of animoi were created, including a great Leviathan construct designed to protect the island while their armies were away. This it did, by and large. No glider could even hope to near the island before it was torn apart by the giant statue shaped in the form of some kind of lobster. Other Leviathans were created for the most important campaigns against Ammit, and they were of great aid in destroying the temples Ammit had built.

However, despite the Atlantians' success, Ammit was more than capable of holding them back while she implemented her most ambitious plan yet. With the combined might of millions of tau'ri slaves, Ammit had them begin building a great pyramid as a landing pad for one particular System Lord she believed would best appreciate her work on Earth: Ra. This was not to occur for some time, however, and Ammit would have to take new hosts in order to sustain itself; among those hosts was a young man that I know to have been the grandfather of the host Ra himself would soon take.

The war was kept well away from Ammit's territory in Aegypt, though many of its battles were fought over the lands that would one day be named 'Europe' and the northern stretches of 'Africa' by several groups of humans. It was here, in these lands, that many artifacts of those Atlantians would one day be sought after, and even the Alterans would one day leave their mark on those continents - especially the one called Europe. Perhaps, however, this was why Ammit could only expand northward from her lands in Aegypt and Mesopotamia.

A people, known as the Yagahl, lived in the Ural mountains to the north. They would soon come into the reign of Ammit, who was using those lands to procure slaves for the pyramid. Though I could go into great detail regarding the actual events surrounding their role in this tale, I will instead focus on the importance of their existence, for it was they who would do what even the Atlantians could not. What they did, however, could partly be attributed to the carelessness of Ammit herself, considering the one trait nearly all goa'uld shared in spades: pride.

As the war with Atlantis diverted many of Ammit's Unas forces to lands far from Aegypt, Ammit had been forced to begin using tau'ri as her slave masters. This they did, with little complaint, as Ammit had been very effective in breaking their minds - something she had grown all the more effective at with persistent experimentation on many tragic souls among mankind. But as she sought to gather slaves from the northern lands using naught but terrans suited with the first weapons that would become a staple of their species for many centuries, she had grown complacent and overconfident. Her guards were soon sent away to aid in the war with Atlantis.

Humanity was unable to resist Ammit's forced proposals of slavery, and the Yagahl were no different. They had descended from a young man that had fled the clan he had been born in. What is significant is that he brought together a great many tau'ri of two major forms: those that are termed 'Neanderthal' and 'Cro-Magnon'. Although the former group would soon begin to die out, they would still have an unmistakable influence on their culture - namely, the shamanistic elements that those terrans relied on to guide them toward an uncertain future.

Whatever the case, the last of the Neanderthal shamans among them was unable to prevent her prophecy of Ammit's arrival from coming true. Even so, it was a hunter among them, named D'Leh, that would soon lead the greatest revolution in all human history before that which overthrew Ra himself. Upon the great pyramid, D'Leh wreaked havoc among the ancestors of a civilization I have come to know as 'ancient Egypt'. They could not contain the rebellion, and before Ammit could stop him, D'Leh managed to kill her with a weapon originally designed by the tau'ri themselves: a spear.

The pyramid had been nearly finished, and after the revolutions that were to drive countless terrans away from Aegypt, the sons of those that worshipped Ammit finished what they started. Though not as successful as Ammit had been in procuring slaves for their excruciating labor, they completed the pyramid that Ra would one day find. But Ammit's death had one unfortunate effect: the goa'uld and their Unas armies no longer had a single leader to report to, and their war with Atlantis began to go terribly. Forced back to the lands of Aegypt, they began subjugating the tau'ri that had not fled. However, as was the norm among the goa'uld, they could not stay united in purpose for long.

Divided into three factions, with only several smaller groups claiming loyalty to one of the three greater powers, the goa'uld began to spread out across the world again. One lord, by the name of Pallas, took much of the original army, and traveled into the lands of Greece. Pallas was a distant relative of the great System Lord Cronos, and as such, his domain would one day belong to Cronos. The minor lords that followed him were known as the Olympians in later epochs, and they settled there as well. However, Pallas was not content with peace, and he took a great many Unas and tau'ri slave warriors toward the west, prolonging the war with Atlantis.

Before I continue, it is imperative that I bring into focus another species, who were also under the imprisonment of the numerous System Lords. These people were the Ohnes - a sentient species that lived in extensive cities borne by the ocean of their world. The System Lord Belus was responsible for their subjection, and few escaped his wrath. One such Ohne, a determined soul named Omoroca, would one day come to Terra and attempt a rebellion against Ra with the aid of Nem, her mate. Though she was killed, Nem would escape through the chapa'ai and spend much of his life back on Oannes after many of his kind had been removed from that world.

Omoroca was not the first Ohne to visit Earth, as one of the minor lords summoned by Ammit had brought many with him. This lord was named Kiwa, and he was renown among the System Lords for his genetic experiments. During the chaos that followed Ammit's death at the hands of the humans, Kiwa managed to procure the stargate against the wishes of the other lords. Along with his Ohne warriors and slaves, Kiwa fled to Antarctica. He began experimenting on the Ohne, hoping to create a species of powerful acquatic warriors capable of matching even the Levaithans of Atlantis.

Though he successfully created a species called the ningen, his creations would not survive as well as humans. Nonetheless, several beasts came about as a result of his research: creatures to which I have heard the names 'Loch Ness monster' and 'Taniwha' given. Not all of the Ohne were experimented upon as such, but those that were became the primary force by which he met the other goa'uld lords in battle, as they were given remarkable strength and resilience - some were even accorded organic armor that could absorb the impact of those explosive shells of energy emitted by those goa'uld staff weapons.

The most deviant design of Kiwa, however, was not the mutated beasts he had altered his Ohne to become - rather, it was a device he could plant within the very bowels of his beasts. Though some believed it to be a simple explosive, it was far more devastating than that. Kiwa had conceived the first naquadah bomb, so named because it utilized the destructive properties of the goa'uld metal, naquadah. Only one would be created, but it would be enough to make him a serious threat to all that would oppose him.

The third lord, named Yuqiang, had discovered Kiwa's deception in stealing the chapa'ai. Despite sharing a common enemy in Kiwa, Yuqiang and Pallas could not agree on how they should deal with him, so Pallas continued to wage war on Atlantis while Yuqiang sought after Kiwa. Yuqiang's journey with his army led them beyond the vast continent of Africa to those lands of ice where Kiwa had fled. Focused as he was on procuring the stargate, Yuqiang had failed to take into account Kiwa's sagacity: the mystic portal was now hidden away beneath the earth, and Yuqiang would never find it.

Kiwa could not last against Yuqiang's colossal group of warriors, and soon, he was brought before Yuqiang. Instead of executing him, that lord, who would come to be known amongst a people in a land called Sinica, decided to make use of his talent in altering life to some end. A temple was set aside for Kiwa on the Arabian peninsula, where he did much of his research for a time. However, during the chaos that drove many of the System Lords to Terra, Kiwa would depart for New Zealand, where he would reach an agreement with Ra that allowed him to keep his possessions there in the south Pacific.

Now, the war between Atlantis and Pallas was reaching its ultimate finale. An elderly priest named Setangya wished to see the end of the war more than anyone. After the loss of his only son, Setangya prayed for answers. He received no response, however, for Enki's Source knew what lied within the heart of that man: the same burning passion with which Enki had caused so much suffering. Those memories of Enki were deeply engrained in the Source, which was driven to protect the people from all harm, even as they sought to use it to their advantage.

As an ever greater number of lives were lost to the war with Pallas, the Atlantians were growing increasingly desperate. Setangya, who had received no answer from their god, became as hardened a soul as Enki had been after the death of Kingu and Nintu. No longer bound by the consideration required of his priesthood, Setangya searched for a way to use the Source as a tool of war. When the war was nearly lost, Setangya took his proposal to King Kashekim, who accepted it after little consideration. The Source was to no longer to be treated as a deity, or where the souls of their ancestral monarchs went after death - instead, it would be studied and altered to become their ultimate weapon.

At that time, Kiwa had desired the destruction of Atlantis, as they had prevented his extension into the lands west of their ocean, the Atlantic. After preparing the largest ningen to be a carrier of his naquadah bomb, Kiwa sent it forth toward the island, alongside the last of his warriors and death gliders. The ningen were unique among Kiwa's experiments, as they had the ability to evade the great Leviathans through a trick of their senses. Under the absolute control of Niwa, it approached the island of Atlantis along with its escort. Predictably, the Atlantians sent forth an army of animoi and Leviathans to meet them just beyond the city.

It is important to note that the Source from which the Atlantians derived their long lifespans and healing abilities was as sentient as you or I. When the scientist, Setangya, grew possessed by the idea of a swift end to their war, he ignored that fact, which was merely a myth from ages past. Sadly, the Source was not pleased with this mistreatment, and it could be said that it felt a rage overtake it that Enki had also experienced in full. It was that same rage that led Enki to execute Anu and wage war on his brethren, and it was the same ideal that caused his calamitous quest for the Adar. It was this animosity that Setangya tapped into for the sake of utilizing it as a weapon: its violent energy captured within the hearts of the animoi.

When the escort of Kiwa's manufactured progeny clashed with the Atlantians, the effect the Source had became immediately apparent. It had strengthened the power by which the animoi unleashed torrents of heat upon their foes. Although this meant that the Atlantians would find themselves victorious, it also meant that their attacks were without direction. Bolts of light struck out from the animoi in different directions, often hitting friend and foe. What more, these attacks were far stronger than they ever were before.

During the most tense moment of the battle, a stray flash of blue caught the laced ningen, and a blinding light flooded the sky. Practically all those Atlantians that saw it turned and fled, even as the commander laid blame upon the pilot responsible for the shot. Nearly the entire force was destroyed in the ensuing tidal wave, and it was only due to the surviving animoi pilots that news of the wave could reach the Atlantians at all - though not a word was spoken, as the wave was mere moments behind them. The moment the invading turmoil of ocean blue was sighted, bells were sounded, and a voice rose out from the central tower warning everyone to retreat to underground shelters.

Atlantis would have been destroyed, then and there, had the Source's primary purpose not overrode its anger, should such a word even be adequate in describing that mentality it had, despite lacking the part of the mind that would allow such feeling. Setangya was arguably the most affected by the sight of that sudden tide, as he was stunned silent by its approach. Only a moment before the ocean wall swept away his frail body, Setangya realized his mistake. It was only with a guilty conscience that he fell prey to the event inadvertently caused by the Source.

As the denizens of that island founded by the children of Adapa and Eva fled toward the center of their city, the royal family also scrambled for the shelter beneath them. The approaching bulwark could clearly be seen over the horizon, even as King Kashekim's wife, Wiyanet, carried her daughter, the young Princess Kida, toward the shelter nearby. However, the child's refusal to leave without a mere doll she had dropped in the chaos may have been an important event, for soon afterward, the Source shone a light upon her. What happened next is something I have seen only the scores of ascended Ori do on occasion to their followers.

The Source may have been deigned to protect the Atlantians in many ways, but it too wished to survive. As much of the city was dependent on, and even built with, the lifeforce within that unique being, it was only to be expected that it would seek a way to save itself. It gave little consideration for those beneath it, but it did focus its attention on Queen Wiyanet herself. After much of its strength was drained for the sake of the Atlantians' war, it required a soul: an aspect of sentience derived from that same expanse that the ascended live within. Just one soul would be enough to repair the damage, as it took the souls of many ascended men and women of Atlantis to create the effect seen previously in the animoi.

That was why it focused its gaze upon Wiyanet, and why it did what I saw next. In a way eerily similar to how the areas of hypertime entice the ascended within their grasps, the Source spoke to that late Queen of the Atlantians and beckoned her into its delicate embrace. Several of the Ori were capable of such a feat, including the one that my ancestor, Fi'tai, had encountered many centuries before now. Why I compare something that saved a fair portion of a city to an Ori being must be marked, for it was not captious in its choice of who to rescue. Many died beyond the walls it built around itself, and it is no wonder that the king would later bury it beneath his own throne room.

When Queen Wiyamat went up into the sphere that comprised the essence of the Source, it spread its essence out among the streets and buildings there in the epicenter of the island. These tendrils with which it reached out into the city coalesced around numerous statues built in honor of the Atlantians' protector deities. Bringing them to stand, the Source unleashed a great deal of its energy to create a temporary bulwark against the oncoming storm. I have heard it described in later epochs as a 'shield', due to its success in deflecting the intrusion that would have destroyed all of Atlantis. Whatever the case, it was successful, but the sheer force with which they were struck led the Source to bury itself and the surrounding structures as far beneath the sea as it considered safely possible.

In one legendary moment, the island of Atlantis sunk beneath the sea, with only the journal of Setangya surviving the destruction through a priest that had left the island mere days before the catastrophe. The nature of his departure is one of particular importance, as I will unveil in the pages to come.

Penned,  
The Orator


	9. The Fall

When a civilization expires, the survivors begin to seek refuge abroad. In a series of such events across the celestial expanse, people would often wander to other worlds - all in the hopes of a new beginning. Such is what my people sought after when a plague struck us all, snaking its way into our homes and families only to rend them apart. Garternay was dying, and nobody knew why. But in this immaterial realm I now find myself, I can see what brought about our ultimate end, and how it came to be.

As I wrote in a past entry, the Ori were those ascended of the Alterans that sought power by amassing disciples to worship them. The souls, otherwise called 'atma' or 'quantum signatures', of their adherents became inescapably connected to a central core of hypertime existing separately across many galaxies. How a simple conscious belief could anchor a spirit to something beyond mortal comprehension is perplexing, but even Minerva and the Anunnaki believed sentience provided a complicated ability to alter their reality.

Perhaps Minerva was correct. The psyche is fully unaware and incapable of these abilities without one other ingredient: the Adar. This fact may have been what led many terrans to worship external figures, as Adapa and Eva had only learned of the Adar's unique properties after their escape from Nabu's laboratory complex.

I still find myself fascinated with the reality that Adapa and Eva chose not to risk the lives of their kind in an attempt to refashion the universe to their own ends. Could that altruism have been worth the aftermath, I wonder? Humanity remained as stubborn and selfish as before, and many waged war over a murky sense of what their ancestors had learned from Enki's prototypes.

That is not to mention the terrifying reality that an unseen being(s), which we cannot understand in full, watches and manipulates from this place I am now in. Only the Adar could bring about its destruction, and the universe could be rebuilt without its enigmatic influence.

But I digress: I mean to describe the origin of that disease that ravaged my world. My point about the Ori is no less important, however, for this illness was brought about by them. Before converting a populace, those corrupt immortals of 'quantum' space would unleash a terrible malady that could only be healed by one 'blessed' with the Ori's gifts - powers that relied on their connection to a specific piece of their minds, which I believe to be an evolved form of that which allows conscious faith to redirect a soul to a particular domain of hypertime.

How the Ori arrived in the Age of Garternay is also important, though perhaps not as immediately apparent. Those Genii for which I have spoke of were not truly of the universe Fi'tai had believed the Age of Pegasi as belonging. On the contrary, they existed in a venue that became the stage for a failed attempt at utilizing an adar. In that realm, Genii scientists believed themselves capable of bringing about new creations among the star fissure, unlike we ronay.

The Star of Ninasu - the 'omega' particle - was brought into being without the Grey mechanics exploited by Nabu. In such cases, it would be even less stable, though not often any more powerful than the minor omega particles I spoke of in one of my earliest entries.

However, the Art of my people, namely that Ink with which we used to touch and mold those worlds across the star fissure, was capable of the same feat by which Nabu had attributed his success. It could create the transcendent adar proficient at unraveling the fabric of existence before weaving it back together in a completely new form.

Those of my kind that wished nothing more than ill upon our neighbors were responsible for following Yi'ldra to that Age of Pegasi and handing them our Art in exchange for arms. It was we who gave them the means by which they would eventually destroy their entire universe, only for it to become a paradoxical dimension wherein only their palace - the place where they crafted their end of days - had survived.

Not all of the Genii remained when their Age was brought to ruin. Those that had utilized the Art were exploring their newfound domains, including those lands where the Alterans fought an uphill battle against the innumerous Wraith - creatures that feast upon physical life as the Ori absorb years. When they could no longer return to their world, they settled and began fighting the Wraith. Those with what few Ages had been salvaged before the fall of their homes hid and protected them as best they could for many generations.

Long before they could settle in the Pegasus Galaxy, however, those few nomads were left in the galaxy that had been home to the Alterans before the Ori exiled them all. The stories of their adventures have been passed down only among a select few - namely those with full knowledge of the Art as taught by our most talented writers. It was their conflict with the Ori, however, that bears special note, for that led them to a momentous task: to flee that galaxy using one of the chapa'ai.

Though my sight and knowledge is nigh limitless in this domain I now wait within, I cannot discern many of the details occuring in the history of that galaxy. The ascended Alterans of the Milky Way and Pegasus Galaxies remain divided, and their hold over those galaxies is weak; such is why I have been able to write of that realm. But the Ori have forever been more united than the Alterans, and though I can peer into the passing years following their demise, I cannot see before it. The dimension through which they exist is between mine and yours, and their aspirations afflict us both in many ways.

What I am certain of, however, is that one of those Genii was carrying the Age of Garternay before their final escape. Perhaps the Ori removed him, only to discover the Age before sending one of their own to explore our corner of the cosmos. On the other hand, that Genii could have been convinced of their cause, which the Ori claimed was to 'ascend' their followers after death. Regardless, the Ori had access to our world before bringing it to an end.

That is why I did not understand when I was there. Not but a child of - using the tau'ri system of aging - barely four years of age, I found myself baffled by the sickness which I was immune to. My own impunity led others to treat me with contempt, and my parents often had to fend for my life. But nothing could prepare me for what happened next.

The first Ori prior arrived in our Age, appearing where all visitors to our world disembarked: the sacred cave within Mount Devokanth, the Place of One Hope. It was here that our first ancestors had discovered the Art, or so our legends told us. How fitting it was that we were first haunted by that unusual visitor - the progenitor of our annihilation - in the place where it all began.

"We will not abandon all that Yahvo has given us," said the king of my people. At the time, he was joined by many in acknowledging the ronay traditions, rather than the strange gods brought by that unfamiliar priest. The city had gathered in the valley beneath the mountainside, where both the prior and our monarch stood in clear sight. That surreal priest merely responded by looking the king in the eye before raising his infernal staff, and a blue glow emenated from it.

Our people merely watched in defiance, until the most harrowing event haralding the power of the Ori turned our confidence into dust. The sun, once shining ever so brightly upon us, began to dim and bleed a crimson red. The prior held his staff upon it a moment longer before its own glow faded and he could walk back into the cave. Stunned and afraid, our people did not know the significance of that event.

Astronomers claimed the star was dying, and we would soon have to evacuate before the planet stopped supporting life. It was a sudden revelation, one that left my people in turmoil. Now, in this realm, I believe I know how the Ori had managed to change the very face of our sun, for it did not have sentience as those of D'ni had. There were no celestial avatars to resist the cruel embrace of the Ori, and so, they would face no difficulty in absorbing the life of a star.

Now harrassed by both a plague and the timely death of our world, we began to panic. Chaos soon gripped Garternay, as some chose to side with the Ori, while others remained loyal to Yahvo. I recall that day my ancestor, Fi'tai, first fought Yi'ldra in a battle for the existence of our age. How small that conflict seemed compared to that which was to come next, for now entire hosts of people fought and died for their respective faiths.

I was too young to understand, but I too had faith, for I believed in my parents. They were of gentle disposition, much as Fi'tai had been before that first war instigated by Yi'ldra and the Ori that had manipulated her. Our home was volunteered as a hospital for the sick, for it could serve no other purpose: the linking books of Fi'tai had long been confiscated by the Guild of Maintainers, and we were only left with the unfinished age our ancestor had named 'Evra'.

Although we took no side in the ensuing conflict gripping our world, we did not stop praying to Yahvo for aid in overcoming this vast plague. That illness to which countless people fell was responsible for our refusal to involve ourselves in such petty disputes as overtaken by the masses. Instead, my parents sought answers in the journal of Fi'tai, and even those works held by the Guild of Archivists. They left nothing to chance or superstition, even as our people - both followers of the Ori and of Yahvo - did.

Then the worshipers of the Ori descended upon our city, which had already faced many coalitions before. But with the strength of the prior following them, our city walls stood no chance against the invaders. With staffs that launched bolts of blue, they cut through our soldiers and rendered our own weapons useless, for how could we face them without closing the gap between they and ourselves? The armor and shields of years past had long faded into obscurity, and we were once more fighting with only spears and swords.

I was woken in the middle of the night and taken through the streets of screaming throngs and scattered soldiers. My mother gripped my wrist so tightly, I still bear a mark. Father had gone ahead to pave the way for us to the Great Temple, where the followers of a man named Rineref had gathered. There were many such factions all across the city, but each saw the other in such a negative light that stories remain of their intense rivalries.

Bodies were scattered across the cobblestone path, and it took all my focus not to trip upon any of them. I still see each of their faces, expressions twisted by fear and sorrow. Though I continued to hold on to mother, I would have nearly lost her in the tears that were to follow. Men and women were shot down in front of us, even as we weaved our way through the streets and between the buildings.

There, in front of the Great Temple, was my father, wrestling with one of the accursed staff weapons still gripped tightly by a warrior of the Ori. Mother swept me up and took me into the temple proper, just as father had overcome the warrior and threw him to the ground.

Although the weapon was still unknown to us ronay, my father was as fast a learner as Fi'tai was - a necessity given that which he was expected to accomplish. He began using the weapon to hold back the approaching swarm as we fled toward the procession. The people were slowly being ushered toward the linking book Rineref's aid, O'pulo, now stood beside.

It was a miracle that my father held on for as long as he did. By the time many of Rineref's followers had evacuated, the temple began to shake from what I can only assume was the coordinated attack of the Ori horde. We were next to leave through the mystic portal, and only a few remained behind us; Rineref had went ahead to coordinate the people on the other side. But mother stopped herself from touching the image upon the book when she realized father was still not there.

The man Rineref had left behind to supervise the last of the evacuees was not as confused by her reaction as I would have expected, but he stopped her with merely a hand on her shoulder. From our perched position above the rest of the auditorium, mother could clearly see out the front doors. Father was among those lying on the ground with several holes burned into his chest. Before she could even go to him, O'pulo sternly reminded her that she had me to look after, so after a long, sorrowful glance, she took me by the hand.

That was when a particularly strong attack on the temple had shaken its foundations to the core, such that a pillar loosened from its place the moment mother touched the linking book. I had not let go of her other hand, so as to be assured that I would enter the Age of D'ni alongside her, but the debris from the pillar dislodged me from her grip in the midst of our escape. That is where my story truly began to diverge.

Although the temple had still not completely collapsed upon the evacuees, many of the remnants did not make it through the book in time, save for O'pulo the moment the stained glass overlooking them shattered into hundreds of shards. The linking book was thrown from its stand, and it landed beneath an area that was soon to be buried under a great pile of rubble. As the survivors struggled to stand, they would only have time to look upon Garternay's new god before the temple entombed all of them.

Penned,  
The Orator


	10. The Journal

**Author's Note:** This is to be the next to last chapter of this entry. As I understand this is a very complicated story/continuity, I've taken the liberty to start working on a wiki specifically for outlining most of the concepts in these entries. Hopefully, it will help in making things easier to understand, since information that is categorized act like 'bite size pieces' to the larger meal. If you are interested, you will probably have to PM me, since I do not know the policy on sharing links to other websites in stories.

I'm also setting up for a more casual story form regarding these entries. In time, I'll have a full timeline posted, which I'll use for future stories. The Orator's journal is meant to be viewed as a universal chronicle; the smaller-scale stories will be written separately in narrative prose, put together in a short story collection that may become an anthology if other writers want to chime in with ideas.

* * *

What is a mere story? How does one view it as nothing more than a series of connected events with a beginning and an end? Though I make note of these situations that affect us all, can it be that it shall end as countless other tomes that have recorded such occurrences? Even should it be found by those select few that can understand its words, will they be able to make a difference?

Few volumes find their way into the hands of those capable of understanding them. Even fewer are discovered by those who can use them, especially for such noble ends as universal peace and prosperity. One such book was the journal of Setangya - a text written by a priest who thirst for vengeance. Within its pages were written the discoveries made of the Source, as well as its place in Atlantian history. It was not until thousands of years later before it was discovered and appreciated by an elderly scholar of Earth: a man named Thaddeus Thatch.

If even such a journal as one written by a man, whose only intention was to destroy his enemies, could be put to use for such benevolent goals as the cessation of all suffering, humanity may have the means to turn the works of those shadows that reign over us into something that will save us all.

What Setangya must not have realized was the responsibility once held by his ancestors, Adapa and Eva. It was they who fled with the adar, and it would be they who were tasked with defending it forever more. That is why Enki, after his ascension, took the Star of Heaven and planted it deep within the Source. Its ethereal form contained the light, and prevented it from unleashing a fury far greater than anything the universe had ever seen before.

Despite this, Setangya knew it was an infinite power source, capable of strength beyond even that which the Alterans were capable of before ascension. Yet there was still a single, missing factor to his ultimate plan: something that could contain and redirect the dynamic energy that composed the Source.

My people had arrived on Terra merely a year before the destruction of their island. The linking book to our New Beginning brought us into a realm created by the lost vessel that had unveiled an extraordinary world of possibilities to the Anunnaki. It was a monumental cavern that would become our home for the countless centuries to follow.

Little did we realize that this was a displaced region of space, for if we had, we might not have sent forth explorers beyond the cave. The exit was never in the same location, and many explorers were lost to the world beyond. One day, the portal leading to the outside would be stabilized the moment we destroyed the Grey vessel. Nobody among our people, save those of highest rank, would ever be aware of the fact that we had lived in a pocket dimension - a separate reality contained within a world.

While I remained with my heartbroken mother, others left the caves in search of life. What they found was more than we could have ever bargained for: hundreds of civilizations, all subject to a singular empire the likes of which our people had never seen. This was some time after the death of Ammit, and her empire had already split into several factions. Where the first of our explorers emerged, they discovered lands held by a lord named Amaterasu in what would come to be known as Nippon.

That was not the only land we would discover, for the entrance to the cavern would often change position. Our explorers soon found themselves scattered throughout the world, and it would not be long before our existence became renown by those we had visited. Surely our strange language, customs, and mode of dress drew much attention from those we considered enormously primitive in comparison.

Only several were able to return with their reports, as the cavern's only means of entry sometimes returned to locations it had once occupied. Its position was always altered by those walking beyond a certain point far removed from the center of our underground city. On those few occasions, explorers from years past were able to return before others wandered beyond the border.

I cannot begin to count how many cultures may have been influenced by our presence. Our esoteric ways of thinking, along with our understanding of such abstract concepts as physics, led to several of our explorers becoming leaders of entire communities. Perhaps many more would have lived beyond their days had there been no goa'uld presence among the tau'ri.

Alas, merely a thousand or so years before our arrival, the System Lord Ra had arrived on this miniscule world in search of new hosts. No doubt led there by one of Ammit's followers, who must have fled through the stargate, Ra claimed the discovery as his own. Humanity was subjected once again to a power they could neither understand nor resist.

Those among we ronay that left to scrutinize the surface of those unfamiliar lands were not left in peace. Several found themselves imprisoned by the System Lords, forced to divulge secrets that had no use for the goa'uld, as even we did not understand the nature of this age, nor the domain in which we had built our lives. Some took up arms against the goa'uld in a futile attempt to lead humanity in rebellion; these endeavors often ended in disaster.

When our names crossed the vast expanse of land and sea to the island that hid itself on the barrows of Earth's great Oceanus, the Atlantians' great king sent forth a delegation to seek us out. Setangya tasked one of his assistants, a man named Jalakal, to see what we outsiders had to offer them - namely in technology meant for warfare. It was with great faith that Jalakal believed we could provide the answer to their dilemma. In his enthusiasm, he pilfered one of Setangya's journals and left with the expedition.

First, they arrived on an island that would one day be known as Iceland. It was there that they faced one of our own for the first time. Her name was Kehrah, and she had been separated from us for merely three months. Days passed as they learned our language; they were nothing if not swift in understanding, for their tongue harbored the root of all Earth's languages. Although our language was not developed on this world, the Atlantians had little difficult adapting to our syntax and vocabulary over the short period of time Kehrah had been with them.

They were not to learn what could have been of an alliance, however, for Ra was also in search of the ronay that had dared explore beyond the boundaries of D'ni. The Atlantian convoy that had approached Iceland did not go unnoticed by Ra's fleet above the planet. After spies among the natives reported Kehrah's existence to the Supreme System Lord, he tasked the most sadistic of the System Lords to capture and interrogate our lady and the Atlantian delegation.

That hated god among the tau'ri was named Sokar - an individual as frightening as he was powerful. Ra was in the midst of a great war with one of the descendents of the subtle Grey, and was thus unable to bring his own forces to bear on either Atlantis or the newcomers from a mythical realm. He swept through the skies above the village wherein Kehrah and Jalakal were living, the infernal gliders casting their vicious flames into every street and building.

Jalakal wasted no time in fleeing the ensuing chaos. Yet when Kehrah's life was in danger of a passing bolt of energy from an oncoming glider, he risked his own to save her. As the town crumbled around them, servants and warriors of the malevolent Goa'uld, the Jaffa, stormed into the resulting chaos. Their staff weapons cut down the people as rapidly as those used by the Ori worshipers against my own kind.

Enamored as he was with the lovely Kehrah, Jalakal failed to retain the ultimate book in his possession. Instead, it was buried along with the bodies of nearly two hundred men, women, and children. Jalakal managed to aid Kehrah in escaping with two of the Atlantian expedition upon those animoi, but he was forced to remain behind in an effort to stave off the approaching army. The gliders followed the animoi in a chase of such magnitude that Kehrah herself had nearly lost her life when her animoi was shot down.

All seemed lost as she slowly descended into the dark depths of the ocean. However, as though the guiding light of Yahvo was with her from the beginning, one of the Atlantian Leviathans recognized the animoi and swept it up from the water's expanse before driving off the remaining gliders in what could only be described as a complete slaughter in favor of the Atlantian behemoth.

Having said that, none other than Kehrah survived the encounter. Whisked away to the island mere days before its submersion, Kehrah would become the first - and only - of our kind to live among the sons and daughters of Adapa and Eva. But in the wake of her survival, Jalakal was submitted to the most atrocious of torments by his captors; for the name Sokar did earn for himself was not forged without the blood and tears of those who stood in the path of his ambitions.

Yet, even his ambitions were fueled by another name:

The all-pervasive shadow of the Vedi: Kane.

Penned,  
The Orator


	11. The Equation

**Author's Note:** This is meant to be a short epilogue to everything so far. Following this, there will be at least one more entry with about a dozen or so chapters. As usual, if existential or philosophical contemplation isn't your strong suit, I recommend skipping past these stories; otherwise, I hope you find it interesting and somewhat thought-provoking.

The next entry might include more familiar story elements, since I'm getting to a point following Ra's arrival on Earth.

* * *

In the past, I mentioned the existence of ascension among that young species on Earth - the same people created for mere labor, augmented for purposes of revenge by a vindictive scientist among the Anunnaki. How could a race simply created for these two reasons evolve into such cultivated beings as those ascended among the Altera?

As is often the case with ascension in the days following the Alterans' mastery of its manifold progression, such means of evolution could only be achieved at the behest of those that have already reached it. Humanity, despite the spectacular maturation of its collective knowledge, still failed to identify the rise from one plane of existence to the other.

Who else but Oma Desala could bring word of enlightenment to a world marred by war and deceit? Betraying those of her kind, she brought the process of ascension to that budding species in the Milky Way. Humanity was proven not to be the common accessories to greed and animus, but a stage in the evolution of the Altera.

As the Wraith circled the globe upon which their city of Atlantis stood, hundreds of their kind crossed through the stargate to that hapless world called Terra. When they found that the goa'uld were in dominance of the young human race, they settled among the Terrans. Some were born of this union, becoming the sole descendants of the entire Alteran race. Thus was humanity made the progeny of their ultimate legacy.

Yet those of Earth were not the only form of humans roaming the galaxies. The Alterans created a species of human that were undoubtedly similar in many characteristics to those developed by the Anunnaki. I have little doubt that they were influenced by the Grey, or perhaps the Asgard, who carried some of the knowledge their Grey ancestors once held. The Ori were also responsible for the evolution of a new species of humanity; the same that the worshipers of the Ori among my kind would become.

Could it be that this species of such an adaptive nature was merely chosen by the unknown overseer(s) that observe and manipulate variables on a universal scale, much as a scientist would do to a mouse and the only life it has ever known? We are all indulibly driven by its will, manifest in the ego as a sense of self. Some might claim that this is what was meant by the war between the Grey and the Vedi. It is a war evinced between the forces of nature and the artificial.

This brings us to the matter of nature: for what is nature but the least controlled of circumstances? If it is defined as the universe working its wonders upon the inhabitants, be they sentient or otherwise, then even the manipulations of that immaterial being(s) can be considered the hand and sword of nature's arm. Yet if we define it as the freedom from all but that which lacks purpose beyond itself, we find that our very existence is against the grain of nature.

I was certainly not the first to postulate these thoughts, for those studying under Oma Desala and the unascended Ancients were equally predisposed to the question: what is our purpose? Is ascension the only goal, or is it merely an objective among a host of necessities? Why is ascension considered a step above the physical?

There could be only one answer, for otherwise, this valued assumption would make little sense. If our atma, or souls, are bound invariably to the whims of an entity or entities whose purpose we cannot be certain of, then are we not meant to break the shackles that have chained us to an irrevocable existence dictated by none other than the unintelligible? Even the Altera sought to distance themselves from the pure faith of their Ori brethren; without the comprehension unbound by fear and ego, the Ori were blinded by their own lust for power, and suffering for those beneath them was the only result.

What would it take for humanity to fashion its own illuminated consciousness within a universe dictated by order? That was the question the Altera sought to answer in the years preceding their discovery of ascension. It was that very same inquiry that Oma Desala brought with her to the people of Earth. Some embraced it, and their resistance to the material diminished; in its place was an enhanced sense of the common denominator: the atma imprisoned by our own pride.

So, instead of focusing on matters that could only have short-term consequence, these humans followed Oma Desala in meditation and contemplation. In time, many would ascend, thereby removing themselves from the equation that is the universe envisioned by this shadow that lurks beneath the corporeal. They joined the fight against the Ori, but even this was merely a single battle amongst a war that far exceeded their newly gained existence.

All wars are fought for different reasons, yet they all have in common this one, simple fact - a reality accepted and understood by the ascended: they are mere tools of the underlying being(s), in much the way humanity had begun for the Anunnaki. But the transcendent war between us and the unknown will not be singular in scope, for its fundamental conclusion will answer a question that no other war can do of its own volition:

Are we to exist, or shall we cease to be?

We have attempted to extend the time by which we can make this decision, which cannot be reneged once made. These delays merely led to the continued suffering the universe experiences now. There is but one choice to make, and it is the most difficult one any being, on any plane of existence, could ever make.

How could we ever make the right decision?

Penned,  
The Orator


End file.
